


Loved and Worshiped

by Mrs_Silence_Dogood



Category: Boruto: Naruto Next Generations, Naruto
Genre: Angst, Badass Sakura, Canon-ish, Clueless Naruto, Explicit Language, F/M, Fix-It, For the Good of the Dobe, Henge Sex, M/M, Male Homosexuality, Not Actually Unrequited Love, Platonic Female/Male Relationships, Platonic Life Partners, Post-Canon Fix-It, Self Sacrificing Sasuke, Uzumaki Naruto is a Good Dad, some violence
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-04-16
Updated: 2018-05-09
Packaged: 2019-04-23 18:34:26
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 10
Words: 27,816
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14338548
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Mrs_Silence_Dogood/pseuds/Mrs_Silence_Dogood
Summary: Author’s Note: This is me, trying to fix it all again. It’s me making a Naruto and Sasuke relationship happen, (So if you’re opposed, don’t read this!) Sakura not a weak housewife, and Naruto not a shit dad. Because to me, none of these things make sense. So this is my second attempt at “fixing” it. This picks up during the current (2018) Boruto timeline. My take on how canon SHOULD evolve; some liberties taken.Naruto has everything he thought he'd ever wanted. And somehow it's still just not right. He just has no idea how to fix it. Sasuke has nothing he's ever wanted but he knows exactly how to fix it. Sasuke's had enough of Naruto's repressing and too much of his own self sacrifice so that the moron figures it out on his own.This is story about a Male/Male romantic relationship. And some platonic/kinda romantic marriages. There is also a Male/female (henge) lemon, so I guess this story just takes all kinds of love.





	1. Chapter 1

“I’m not in the mood for your shit, today, Sasuke. It’s been a bad day and Boruto has taken his new found talent for kunai throwing and taken it out on my office door.” It had been a particularly bad day for Naruto. He’d seemed to be having a lot of those lately and Sasuke showing up to bother him while he was working wasn’t exactly helping. He had perched himself in the ledge of Naruto’s office in Hokage tower. Naruto didn’t even have to look to see Sasuke was there or to know that he was in a foul mood that matched his own.

Sasuke sighed an annoyed sigh and Naruto could _feel_ him roll his eyes. “He just wants you around, idiot. Anyone can see that.”

Naruto growled.“ _You_ may not realize it, being _gone_ all the time, Sasuke. But I’m actually pretty busy. You know being the _Hokage_ and all. The world doesn’t stop because a child wants _attention._ ”

Sasuke tsked sarcastically. “Surrounded by people and no time for your family. Well, I suppose _we_ had no father figures around when we were kids and we’re just _fine_ , right? But hey. At least _you’re_ never alone, right?” Sasuke said the words with such disdain it was obvious he knew he was pointing out a weakness of Naruto’s.

Naruto dropped his paperwork and wheeled around to glare at Sasuke finally. “Oh, fuck off. _You’d_ know all about not wanting to be alone, wouldn’t you? About settling just to avoid it.” Naruto had spent plenty of time biting back his feelings on Sasuke’s life choices, but he was stressed and annoyed and angry and his practiced restraint was stretching thin.

Sasuke scoffed like he was an idiot. “Moron, _you_ wanted so desperately to be adored; to be constantly reassured. You married someone who thinks you defecate gold. You must be truly damaged if _that_ is the only way you can have any semblance of self esteem; to be worshipped instead of loved.”

“Oh, that’s rich coming from you. You married your lifelong fangirl!”

Sasuke shook his head in disbelief, “Right, only to leave her every chance I get.”

Naruto instantly leaned back, stunned for a moment. Sasuke’s glare remained firm but he sighed with frustration at revealing so much. His tone was leading, as if he expected it to tell Naruto something about _why_ . But it still wasn’t clear to him. It never had been, and he had no idea that Sasuke had been doing it on _purpose_. And the fact that he had just confirmed it out loud wasn’t something he’d ever considered happening.

“Then … why?” Naruto’s voice was was low, as if there were some kind of secret to be shared. “Why would you marry her? Why have a kid?” He waved around the office. “Why take _only_ missions that get you out of the village?” He shook his head in confusion. “Just… tell me, Sasuke. Spell it out for me. I don’t understand.”

“Because _you_ needed worshipped, Naruto.” Sasuke’s voice was as quiet as Naruto’s but it was full of contempt and resentment. He swiped the mission scroll off Naruto’s desk and walked to the window. “I’ll be back in a few weeks.” He hopped out without another word leaving Naruto stunned.

* * *

Naruto was having another bad morning. The night before he’d gotten home especially late and while that certainly wasn’t uncommon, he had slept in some, which _was._ He’d gone straight to his study, thinking he may finish up the plans he was drawing up for a practice board he was making for Boruto’s birthday and he accidentally fell asleep. He hadn’t had anyone wake him so he woke late and in a bit of a frenzy. When he came quietly down the stairs no one, not even Hinata knew he was there.

“Maybe your dad can show you tomorrow, Boruto.” Hinata’s voice was warm and he smiled at the constant love in her voice. “He’s always been so good at kunai throwing, you should learn from the best.”

For some reason this made Naruto grimace. He wasn’t the best. He was good _now_ , but Boruto was already 10 times better than he had been at his age. Sometimes when Hinata recalled their youth, he found himself wondering how much she really paid attention. He paused on the steps and leaned against the rail.

“No way! I can wait until Sasuke Sensei comes back. He’s _way_ better than dad!”

Naruto smirked and thought, _That’s fair._

“Besides, Sasuke Sensei is so _cool_. I can’t believe you knew him when he was a kid! What was he like?!”

“Sasuke-kun? Oh, I don’t really know. He was pretty mean to your father…” Naruto closed his eyes to avoid rolling them and shook his head. Hinata was just one more person that didn’t understand Sasuke.

And while he wasn’t surprised that Boruto thought Sasuke was cool, he couldn’t help but feel a twinge of jealousy. Boruto was _his_ son, and somehow, he preferred Sasuke. Somehow, after 20 years, he’d found himself right back in the same boat: playing second to Sasuke. And with one of his most precious people. He quietly left for work without a word to his family, pouting all the way.

* * *

It was late again when Naruto was finishing up for the day. He’d just stood when a flash through the window came and revealed Sasuke standing with a scroll; his mission report. He tossed it to Naruto, wordlessly.

Thinking of Boruto’s blind adoration of Sasuke he wondered if he’d had the chance to see him and if he would go home to be another disappointment to his son. “Did you try my house first?”

He shook his head once. “You’re always here.”

“I don’t really want to be worshipped.” He blurted it without thought.

Sasuke didn’t miss a beat. “Then Boruto should definitely be your favorite.”

“Isn’t he yours?”

“Yes.” Again, said without hesitation..

There was an uneasy silence and Naruto plopped back down in his seat. Sasuke took a seat in front of the desk.

“You _are_ worshipped, you know, Dobe.”

Naruto sighed deeply. “My whole life, that’s all I ever wanted.”

“Congratulations” He said it with sarcasm, and Naruto scowled.

“It’s not what I thought it would be.”

“It never is.”

Naruto looked up at Sasuke and read through his blank face. When Naruto was a child, he wanted to become Hokage and gain the respect and adoration of the village. It had been his dream and he wasn’t shy about it. Sasuke was also not particularly shy about his dream when he was a child; to kill his brother. And Naruto knew just how much achieving his dream had broken him. Clearly his lack of satisfaction in achieving his own dream was nothing compared to the pain Sasuke had in achieving his own. And the reminder wasn’t lost on him. His face softened and he opened his mouth to try to comfort his friend but was immediately cut off by a glare and a sharp shake of Sasuke’s head warning him not to go there.

Naruto’s shoulders slumped. “Fine.” He leaned back in his chair. “I think I just want _someone_ to actually know me.”

Sasuke looked bored. “Everyone knows you, idiot.”

Naruto’s face soured. “I mean understand me.”

Sasuke snorted once and crossed a leg over the other, reclining back into the chair. It was a position of comfort that Sasuke rarely took and it reminded him that even if Sasuke was a complete bastard, there was a comfort between them.

“You’re not that hard to understand, Dobe. You’ve spent decades never shutting up. The whole world understands who you are.”

“You know what I mean, bastard!”

“Hn.” He tilted his head. “Do _you_ know what you mean?”

“What the hell? Of course I know what I mean, I’m the one saying it!”

“Then what exactly is it you want?”

Naruto opened his mouth and closed it. “I don’t know.”

Sasuke laughed coldly and briefly. “I know you don’t, dead-last.” Sasuke grabbed the first scroll on the mission pile and dashed out of his window, leaving Naruto scowling.

* * *

A few days later, when he woke, he was the first one up. Boruto was the second. It was rare that they had much time alone, and even more rare that they were both up so early. He was at the kitchen table with his coffee looking over some reports when Boruto stumbled down the stairs. They looked at each other with surprise and Naruto smiled cautiously. When Boruto returned a small smile, Naruto’s smile broadened.

“Want some hot cocoa?”

Boruto just nodded and Naruto made it for him. Boruto grabbed his game and sat on the couch facing the large picture window and began quietly playing. Naruto sat down next to him and handed him his cocoa and watched him play his game over his shoulder. He didn’t want to interrupt the game and he didn’t want to ruin the comfortable silence they were sharing but he wanted to talk to his son. He’d been keeping up on his school and his progress through regular reports from Shino and Konohamaru, but he still found himself wondering more. He wanted to _know_ his son.

“Who’s your best friend?” He blurted it without much thought and Boruto looked up at him like he was crazy. He cringed a little and scratched the back of his head in a little embarrassment. “I mean, I read reports on you all the time. It seems like you get along with everyone. But who do you get along with best?” He shrugged. “I mean, who do you like the best?”

“Why are you asking this now?” Boruto paused his game and rolled his eyes, still looking at his dad like he was crazy.

“I dunno. I don’t get as much time with you as I’d like. I wanted to know something more than the reports could tell me.”

Boruto’s face soured and he unpaused his game. “Your reports suck.”

Naruto sighed, defeated and went back to watching the sunrise and drinking his coffee. After a few moments, he stood, finishing his coffee in one gulp. “Don’t forget your cocoa. It’s not very good cold.”

He was putting his shoes on at the door when he heard Boruto in the hall. “Shikadai.”

“Huh?”

“Well, Shikadai or Mitsuki. They’re probably my best friends.”

Naruto sat back, a little stunned and smiled gratefully. It wasn’t much but it was something. He nodded in acknowledgment of the effort Boruto was willing to make to let his father know him. Boruto shrugged and looked slightly uncomfortable. He threw an apple at his dad and when Naruto caught it, his face softened further and Boruto’s soured again. “Breakfast can’t be only coffee. Only dummies think that.”

Boruto said nothing more, just took off up the stairs and almost ran into Hinata as she exited their room. She looked at Naruto questioningly and he simply shook his head and smiled.

* * *

That evening at work, after everyone else had left, Naruto found himself thinking about that morning with Boruto. He’d sent a clone to spy on him later in the day, as he often did in secret. Most days he found Boruto with his friends, but shut off from school, just barely paying attention, waiting to get free. But today he was obviously in as good a mood as Naruto was. He was paying attention to Konohamaru and when he talked about the Rasengan, he didn’t sour to hear about his dad. And it made Naruto’s heart swell to think that their interaction had had a positive effect on his son, too.

It was strange to think; he felt _loved_ by just his son revealing a pretty basic part of himself to him. And he felt loved and joy like he hadn’t in _years_ by him giving him an apple. Not when his wife had made him a full breakfast earlier in the week. Or when she told their son he was the best at everything. But when he got scolded for not taking better care of himself. For his son reminding him how he _should_ be taking care of himself. And calling him a dummy.

Which was incredibly close to being called an idiot, wasn’t it? Boruto would probably love to know he’d taken after his idol in insults, too. Naruto chuckled to himself.

Laughing to himself was what he was still doing when Sasuke climbed agily through his window.

“Moron, if someone saw you laughing at nothing they’d think you were crazy.”

And that made Naruto laugh more.

Sasuke didn’t respond by also laughing, of course. He would never. But Naruto could see amusement in his eyes. Amusement and curiosity. He sat at the chair in front of his desk.

“Boruto called me a dummy this morning.” Naruto laughed anew with more vigor. He found himself tearing up he was laughing so hard.

Sasuke smirked openly and grunted. “He’s smarter than he looks.”

Naruto grunted another laugh. “Hey! He looks just like me!”

Sasuke’s smirk spread into a smile and he raised his eyebrows as if to say “Exactly.”

So Naruto laughed harder. He was doubled over and he could have sworn Sasuke was struggling not to laugh.

The laughter reached a natural and comfortable stopping but both Naruto and Sasuke found themselves smiling at the end; like they hadn’t found themselves in years.

“It doesn’t feel the same as being worshipped does it?”

Naruto’s smile became slightly sad. “No. No it doesn’t.”

Sasuke nodded, still smiling. “It’s better, though, isn’t it?”

Naruto’s smile widened again and he nodded slowly. “Yeah. It’s definitely better.”

“So what is it you want, then?”

“I want to be _loved_.” He whispered it, almost hoping Sasuke didn’t hear him. Praying he wouldn’t take the vulnerability and tear him apart.

“Idiot.” Sasuke kept smiling and stood. He grabbed a scroll in the mission pile and opened it, put it back and opened another. That must have been more to his liking because he pocketed it. He walked to the window, passing Naruto and looking at him as he paused, half out the window. “You need to decide if you can you be worshiped and loved at the same time, then.” He waved the mission scroll. “It’s local. I’ll be around.”

And he was gone.

* * *

At breakfast the next morning, Naruto made an extra effort with Boruto. He showed him the plans for the kunai throwing board he’d made for him and said he’d send a clone to get the supplies and he’d come home early from work the next night. Boruto seemed pleased but not excited. And he’d like to make Boruto excited so he groaned inwardly and got it over with.

“Sasuke’s back.”

Boruto beamed and bounced and he hated that he couldn’t tell him anymore than that. He just sent him over to Sakura’s and gave him some money told him to take some fresh tomatoes at the market by their house. Sasuke wasn’t around enough to know that the market close to _his_ house had better produce. He sighed as Boruto bounded out. He kissed Himawari’s head and thanked Hinata for breakfast and walked to the tower.

* * *

Around lunch time, Sasuke walked into Naruto’s office. No one had attempted to stop him, of course. But Shikamaru at least had the fortitude to not look impressed. They nodded casually to each other in recognition before Shikamaru turned back to Naruto.

“That one needs done before you leave the office.” He pointed to a small stack of papers in the center of Naruto’s desk and left.

“Thank you for the tomatoes.”

Naruto chuckled lightly. “Boruto wanted to.”

“Oh? _Boruto_ knows tomatoes are my favorite food?”

”He does now.” He smiled and shrugged. “He wants you to like him. I thought bribing you couldn’t hurt his chances.”

“I already like him.”

“Well, the way you show your affection is pretty… subtle. So he doesn’t know that yet.”

Sasuke shrugged. “He’ll figure it out.” He pointed to the stack of papers on Naruto’s desk. “I take it that means we’re eating lunch here?”

“Heh, yeah, if you wanna eat with me, you’re gonna have to get used to eating here.”

“Let me guess. You have Ramen delivered daily?”

Naruto looked unashamed. “Of course.”

“I’m not eating Ramen. I’ll be back. Finish your paperwork and we’ll eat.”

When Sasuke returned shortly later, Naruto was signing a piece of paper. “Perfect timing! I was just finishing up. I’m starving.”

“I found a truant child.” It was then that Naruto noticed the mop of yellow blonde hair peeking out from behind Sasuke’s robe. Sasuke reached behind him and pushed Boruto forward.

Naruto’s face scowled. “Boruto…” His voice was a warning.

“He’ll eat lunch with us and then return promptly to the academy.” Sasuke narrowed his eyes at Boruto. “Isn’t that right?”

“Hai, Sensei.”

Naruto gave Sasuke a hard look. “Well, I’m glad his father got a say in how to handle truancy.”

Sasuke shrugged and began laying out their food. “He hasn’t eaten. Ninja need food to sustain them.”

It was clear to Naruto two things in that moment. One, that Sasuke cared nothing for Boruto’s blood father’s take on the matter and two? He was growing quite fond of Boruto. He gave a small knowing smile to Sasuke. “Fine. What are we eating?”

“Barbeque!” Boruto’s excitement was contagious and Naruto smiled as he dug in.

After a few moments of companionable silence while they ate, Boruto spoke up. “Hey Dad?”

“Yeah?” He spoke with his mouth full.

“Who’s _your_ best friend?”

Naruto’s eyebrows raised but he smiled immediately. “That bastard.” He pointed his chopsticks at Sasuke, who just rolled his eyes and took another bite. Sasuke’s implied indifference made him want to call him out, as well. “And I’m his.”

“Really?!” Boruto’s eyes widened. “Is that true, sensei?”

Sasuke just leveled a bored expression at him briefly before taking another bite.

Naruto just laughed. “Lesson one about Sasuke, kid. He doesn’t really _talk_ about feelings.”

Sasuke scoffed. “I leave that to you. You’ll talk about feelings with the postman.”

Boruto laughed. “He’s funny, dad. You never said he was funny.”

Naruto snorted. “He’s only _funny_ when he’s being a bastard to _me.”_

Sasuke shrugged as if that was a given fact. “So frequently.”

* * *

The next day, Boruto was meeting with Sasuke after school to train. Naruto was too interested to ignore the training and too excited to send a clone. Instead he ducked out between meetings and sent the clone to the next tedious Hokage chore. He was a little late, but only by about an hour; he knew they’d still be training. When Naruto found them, he found them throwing kunai at what looked like a new board.

And there were tools stored neatly next to it.

And Naruto’s plans for a kunai board.

Sasuke had taken _his_ plans and built the board he’d wanted to build with his son and done it instead. Holy shit, that was a punch in the nuts.

“Dad! Did you see the kunai board?! Sensei Sasuke and I made it! Ya know even with one hand he’s still really good with a hammer! He cut the board to size with his sword!”

“Yes, I see that.” Naruto tried to hide the emotion in his voice but it was obvious he wasn’t fooling Sasuke. He looked oddly at him and Naruto picked up the plans from the ground. “It’s not often Sasuke takes _my_ plans and enacts them.”

Sasuke’s face softened and Naruto knew he realized why Naruto was upset. “It’s not often the plan is worth stealing.”

“Only if it pulls my son further from me?”

“Only when I thought my _Lord_ Hokage had other things he’d rather spend his time on.”

“I would _always_ rather spend time with my son, Sasuke. Where’s Sarada?”

“She’s at the hospital with her mother.” Sasuke was clearly unimpressed by Naruto’s anger.

“Hey! You can’t be mad at Sensei! He helped me do something you haven’t had time for in months!” Boruto wouldn’t let his father lash out at his mentor, it seemed. “And you would _not_ always rather spend time with me. You’re probably just a clone anyways.”

“Sasuke?”

“It’s him, Boruto.”

“The clones are doing the boring shit today. There isn’t anyone who would notice the difference, or anyone who would care, at the rest of my meetings. I’d rather be _here._ ”

Boruto folded his arms over his chest. “Well, here’s a first.”

“It is _not_ a first, you little brat! I’ve only been Hokage for a year. You’re never home either, so when I come home, _you’re_ not usually there. You don’t see everything, you know!” Naruto narrowed his eyes and tried to keep his voice and temper down. “You can’t hold a difference of schedule against me! You go to bed at 8 o’clock! Your mom has dinner ready at 5. Do you know what time time it is in Suna at 5? It’s 3. So my meetings are very often during your dinner time. I can’t send a clone to dinner, I don’t get clone nutrition, you know.”

He closed his eyes and looked up, breathing deeply. “OK. You’re right, Boruto. I haven’t been making enough of an effort. I won’t work at all this weekend.” He looked back at Boruto sternly, “Barring any emergencies. You have to let me take care of things without the anger at home, Boruto. I am needed more places than home.”

Boruto’s eyes were wet and his fists were clenched at his sides. He met Naruto’s stare with an equally stubborn one. “You’re needed at home, too.”

Naruto sighed and let his shoulders fall. “I know, kid. I know.” He approached him tentatively but pulled him by his shoulder into a small hug. “Let’s both be easier on each other, ok? I’ll find a way to spend more time with you, and you cut me a little more slack, ok?” Boruto nodded into his father’s stomach and hugged him back very briefly.

Naruto was not done with this conflict, however. He glared at Sasuke over Boruto’s head. “You, however, get no slack. Bastard.”

Boruto pulled back sharply to look at his father, wide smile. “Are you going to spar?” He was excited more than he’d ever seen him. He looked at Sasuke and saw amusement had spread over his face.

Sasuke shook his head with a small smile. “I don’t think so.”

“Why not? Are you _scared?”_ Naruto’s own smile now split his face. He could use a chance to punch Sasuke in the face. It had been too long, in his opinion, and this kunai board was certainly reason enough for him.

“No, moron, I’m at a slight disadvantage, don’t you think?” He lifted his arm to reveal a stump.

Naruto’s eyebrows raise in surprise. He’d sparred with Sasuke dozens of times, since the war and it was never _that_ different. He still had full use of his sharingan and the rinnegan, which would normally put _Naruto_ at the disadvantage. He looked down to see his son’s disappointment and he smiled slyly at Sasuke. He shrugged off his Hokage robes and raised his hand with the bandage and unwrapped it halfway down. He pulled the loose bandage behind him and secured it to his belt loop, tying his arm behind his back. “And now?”

Sasuke’s eyes revealed none of the emotion Naruto instinctively knew he was feeling as he reached up and removed his cloak as well.

“No Sage, no rinnegan?” Sasuke didn’t look at him as he adjusted his katana.

“And no susano’o.” Sasuke nodded. Naruto beamed as he lifted his two fingers to indicate the start of a spar the way they’d learned in the academy.

Sasuke rolled his eyes and lifted his fingers momentarily as well. Before he dropped them he said, “Boruto, stand by the kunai board and do not intervene.” He smirked, his eyes never leaving Naruto. “I won’t hurt your father too badly.”

As soon as he dropped his fingers, Naruto did as well and while Sasuke pulled his sword, Naruto flung kunai at him, making him deflect. While Sasuke charged, Naruto allowed him to come to him baring his teeth in an ecstatic smile.

As they exchanged blows, blocking and deflecting what they could, Naruto tried to remember the last time he’d sparred with Sasuke. Before he’d become Hokage, he thought. He didn’t spar with anyone much anymore. And honestly, he never really knew if they were holding back because of his title. And even if they weren’t, not many people could offer him the kind of challenge Sasuke did.

There was always a magic in fighting Sasuke. A force that made the rest of the world disappear. He could never focus as clearly on anything as he could during a fight with Sasuke.

But even still, he was aware his son was watching. He remembered how captivated he was watching Kakashi fight Zabuza. It was thrilling for him to watch. He knew Boruto was watching Sasuke with that same kind of awe, but he didn’t want him to be embarrassed by his own father. His eyes flicked to Boruto and, of course, Sasuke noticed. He smirked and whispered harshly. “Head in the game, Dobe.”

They were decently even matched, but it came to an end much sooner than a normal spar with Sasuke would. Without the use of his arm, he knew he wasn’t going to be able to win. In fact, he thought Sasuke realized that at the exact moment he did. He relied too heavily on his now restrained appendage and left himself open. In a fight, there are things people watching cannot see that are blatantly clear to those in the fight. Their eyes met and Naruto cringed marginally and Sasuke smirked his signature “gotcha” smile that Naruto was all too familiar with, and then he dropped his sword in a flourish, making it look like Naruto had disarmed him. The way they’d been fighting, the sword had been blocking his kunai against Sasuke’s throat so with no effort of his own, it appeared that Naruto had beaten him.

He tried to hide his surprise, but it was more confusion than anything else, anyways. Sasuke tilted his head toward Boruto with a small smile.

“Wow! That was so cool! How did you do that, Dad?! I’ve never seen a fight that cool in my life! Is that what all your spar sessions were growing up?”

Sasuke backed away and retrieved his discarded katana, wiping and sheathing it. “One does not become Hokage without being a proficient fighter, Boruto.”

“Hmpf. That’s enough for tonight, Boruto. Go home and help your mother with dinner, I’ll be there shortly.” He looked at him in warning. “But I will need to go back to the tower after, ok?”

“Yeah! Sure thing! Hey, can you show me how you did that disarm? That was so cool, Dad!”

Naruto smiled and looked at Sasuke. “Yeah, I think I probably can. We’ll train some this weekend, ok?”

“OK! See you in a little bit!”

Both Naruto and Sasuke watched as Boruto flew from rooftop to rooftop on his way home.

“I suppose I should say thank you.” Naruto pulled his robes back on and tossed Sasuke his.

“You shouldn’t have tied your arm, idiot. That puts you at a disadvantage.” Sasuke put his robe on and smirked again at Naruto. “ _I_ don’t need anyone but _you_ to know I’m better.”

Naruto laughed. “Well, if you ever want me to let you win for Sarada, just let me know.”

Sasuke looked at him like he was an idiot. “You don’t have to _let_ me win, Lord Hokage.”

“Bastard.”

“Moron.”


	2. Chapter 2

“Are you happy in your marriage?”

Sasuke quirked a brow and then shook his head. “I don’t know that I’d even call it a marriage, Dobe. She got pregnant on a mission, we got married on a mission, she had Sarada on a mission.” He shrugged. “I don’t think I need to tell you that children tether you.”

“Hey! What’s that supposed to mean?”

Sasuke sighed, annoyed. “Nevermind.”

Naruto decided he’d rather not pursue that line of conversation, so he returned to the original question. “I just, I don’t always feel like I’m really all that important to Hinata.” He scrunched his face to make light. “She kind to everyone. But she looks at me like I’m the best thing that’s ever happened to her. But it doesn’t really feel like I am. And … I don’t think I’ll ever feel that about her.”

“Is it  _ normal _ to feel that way, anyways? Are you supposed to feel that way about someone you share your whole life with?”

“Ahh, I forget sometimes you have exactly that same with Sakura, don’t you?” Naruto chuckled. “You’re probably used to it by now, huh?”

“I believe we’ve had the conversation about me being gone all the time, idiot.”

“So really, then. Why her?”

“Why not?  _ Everyone _ looks at me with either fear or adoration. So why not her?” Sasuke shrugged again, still bored. “The better question is why did  _ you _ choose someone who would do that to you?  _ Most _ people don’t adore you. Or at least they didn’t when you married Hinata.”

“Hey, shut it, asshole!” But he laughed, lightly. “Probably for the exact  _ opposite _ reason you did it. I’d never had  _ anyone  _ do it, so it was kinda a big deal.”

“I think it was the same reason.” 

“What’s that?”

“It’s just easier this way.”

He tossed his napkin in Naruto’s trash, grabbed his bento and waved goodbye, leaving Naruto considering.

* * *

“Sakura knows I don’t love her. Does Hinata know you don’t love her?”

“What the fuck, Sasuke? Of course I love Hinata!”

“Oh, for fuck’s sake. I have to hold your hand through every step of this don’t I?” Sasuke muttered it as they flew through the trees. Naruto could hear him, but it was clear he was not saying it  _ to _ him. “Okay. Does she know you don’t love her as much as she loves you?”

“Dude, why would you say shit like that? Even if it’s true, you can’t just say it like that! She’s my wife. She’s the mother of my kids.”

“She’s a good mother.”

“She is!”

“She’s a good wife.”

“She  **_is_ ** .”

“Is she a good companion?”

Naruto glared over at his partner. “Fuck off.”

Sasuke smiled smugly and didn’t say another word. The topic was dropped for now and when they got to the training grounds, they sparred without any further talk of marriages or children.

* * *

“Hey Sasuke?”

“Hn?”

“I think my marriage is over.” 

Sasuke rose his eyebrows in surprise and looked up from his scroll on the side table in Naruto’s office. He’d taken up residence there the last few days as he researched for his mission.

Naruto rushed to cover his words with context. “Or not really _over._ Just like, how it’s been. I think that’s done. I can’t _un_ see how she really looks at me. It’s like as soon as I really noticed, I can’t make it go away. I know she loves me. She loves me as much as she can.” He scratched the back of his head. He did it so rarely anymore, it almost felt nice to be slightly embarrassed. “But I don’t think she sees all of me. It’s kinda like she picks and chooses what she sees.” His words came out faster and faster and it felt like he just couldn’t stop talking, digging himself into a hole deeper and deeper. “She’s a good woman, and I’ve been very lucky to have her! I would never shame her by just… leaving her!” Naruto laughed a forced laugh. “Not that I think she’d care all that much. We never see each other anyways. We haven’t even touched in weeks, much less slept together. It’d bring her family some embarrassment, though and I’d have a shitstorm of a mess to clean up politically. Not to mention what it’d do to my kids.” He sat back in his chair, frustrated. “So I can’t just leave her. I won’t.”

“Why are you telling me all this, then?”

He looked at him flatly. “Because you’re my friend. You’re who I talk to about things. Shut up and take it.”

Sasuke rolled his eyes. “So you’ve decided your marriage is over, but you’re not leaving her?”

“Yeah, I guess so.”

“Are you going to talk to  _ her _ about this?”

“I probably should.”

“What difference will it make?”

“I just thought she should know. Ya know… I’m not happy. With her. She doesn’t make me happy.”

“Are you going to look for  _ happiness _ elsewhere?”

“No!” Naruto’s cheeks colored slightly. “Well I mean, I’m not going to go looking to get laid or anything. But if I found someone who made me happy, then I want to be able to be with them. Even if I can’t really  _ be _ with them.” Naruto shrugged and avoided eye contact. “I suppose that’s not really the best foundation for starting anything new, though, so probably not.”

Naruto peeked at Sasuke from the corner of his eye and saw his face remained blank. “If you found someone.”

“Yeah.”

He glared. “Idiot.” Sasuke went back to his scroll. “Sakura knows she doesn’t ‘ _ make me happy’”  _ Sasuke parroted Naruto’s words with disgust, making sure he knew how little it mattered. “She always has. She knows I find happiness elsewhere.”

“ _ You _ find happiness?” Naruto didn’t want to think about this topic anymore. He didn’t like avoiding it, but he’d done enough facing it head on for the moment.

“Not lately. Shut up and get back to work,  _ Hokage-sama _ .”

Naruto smiled warmly. “Hai.” He knew he had a difficult conversation with his wife coming up.

* * *

Walking away from the village Naruto felt more complete than he had in years. “I think a mission is exactly what I need, Sasuke. This was a great idea.”

“I know.”

“I just think I need a chance to come to terms with what all this self realization means.”

“I know.”

“I could kick a little ass on the way, too. That’ll feel good. A nice distraction.”

“Yes, I know.” Sasuke sighed, bored.

“I just think… maybe Hinata… I don’t think she really minded. When I told her what I’d been thinking. She seemed surprised. But it was weird. She didn’t seem surprised at what I was telling her; just that I was actually  _ saying  _ it. I think she’s known this was going to happen a lot longer than I ever did. Maybe I misunderstood the entire nature of our relationship. She’s so kind. And I love to feel like her hero. It’s just… I don’t think it’s enough. Not anymore. It’s not real.” 

“I know, idiot. It’s just been a really long time since you’ve actually said it, I thought that perhaps you’d forgotten.”

Naruto struggled to remember when, aside from the past few weeks, he’d talked to Sasuke about… well,  _ anything _ . “I’ve never said that before, bastard.”

Sasuke sighed deeply and rolled his eyes. He grabbed Naruto’s arm briefly to stop him and made the hand signs for a henge. When the smoke cleared, Sasuke was a beautiful woman in a discreet one piece pastel orange bathing suit. She had dirty blonde hair and familiar blue eyes and one scarred line on each side of her face. Sasuke’s henge looked bored as realization and then humiliation spread across Naruto’s face.

“Oh, fuck! How did you--”

Sasuke’s bored look went to annoyed immediately. He pointed to the bathing suit. “Orange.” Then he pointed to the face. “Whiskers.” He released the henge jutsu and, back in his regular body he looked no less annoyed. He spoke slowly and each word was punctuated for emphasis. “And I  _ can sense you from miles away.” _ He rolled his eyes again and continued walking. “I can’t believe you actually thought you’d fooled me.  _ How _ are you the Hokage?”

Naruto sat stunned. “Sasuke!”

“Being worshipped isn’t real. I’d rather have someone accept me, flaws and all than someone ignore the real me to make a fake version as some feather in their cap.”

Naruto remembered those words all too well. And he pressed his lips firmly together withholding any emotion from emerging. “But. You married Sakura.”

“I will never worship you, you fucking idiot.”

“I just said I don’t want that anymore!”

Sasuke spread his arms out. “Which is why I’m here now.”

“Oh.”

“Yeah. Oh.” Sasuke continued walking shaking his head.

Naruto watched him walk away for a moment before walking briskly to catch up. He matched Sasuke’s strides and locked his fingers behind his head, smiling widely. This was definitely going to be a better mission than he’d thought.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So yeah, this is probably confusing. There's clearly a henge that played a role in the two of their pasts... But we don't know what kind of role and who the what when and where. Don't worry, I won't drag it out. You'll see in the next chapter. Which I'll post in just a few days. (I won't drag out a cliffhanger, it gives me anxiety. lol)


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sasuke’s POV. Which, in a canon-esque world is hard because we never really get inside Sasuke’s head, other than to see he’s one effed up dude. “Flashback” to what that henge Sasuke transformed into was all about. This is pre-Boruto anime by about 9 years, post war by about 2 years. It’s pre-Naruto: the Last. Before Hinata/Naruto and Sasuke/Sakura. Honestly, the timeline of the manga is weird anyways, so let’s just try to kinda go with it.
> 
> Also, Lemon. M/F ... ish.

Bathhouses were not brothels. But it was common place for ninja away from home to frequent them. They didn’t need to pay for  _ services _ , they knew there were no attachments, and everyone was careful. Sasuke had never been to one, but his moments of temptation had been becoming more and more difficult to deny.

Temptation, of course, came exclusively from the blonde boy who’d certainly matured beyond boy and beyond mere annoyance. He’d never felt any need to seek out sexual satisfaction before. In fact, he’d been so busy in his life’s goals that taking a sexual partner had never even occurred to him. Until he woke up in the hospital after Naruto had dragged him home. Home, where everything had changed except one thing: There were still only three people that cared for him; his teammates and their sensei. And of those, only one who mattered to him. 

When he woke up in the hospital he’d seen Naruto meditating, one armed and in the open window, facing outward. He’d known Naruto had grown in his absence. Their fight had taught him that tenfold. But for him, of all people, to able to calmly meditate? To just  _ sit still _ . That had been unheard of previously. 

Observing Naruto had always been like watching a tornado. He knew his face, but he’d never seen it relaxed in such a way. He knew his body, yet he’d never seen it bathed in sunlight, chest calmly rising and falling with even breaths. As Naruto sat, Sasuke could see the profile of him; he was barefoot, shirtless with loose black pants, eyes closed, mouth slightly open and absolutely still. Sasuke thought for the first time in his life that his  _ friend _ was beautiful. While it was still a struggle to simply admit friendship, even to himself, the appreciation of the sight before him had him questioning the true nature of his feelings for Naruto again.

As he watched a bead of sweat drop from his temple to run down along the side of his face and drop onto his shoulder, Sasuke assumed that the feel of it would distract Naruto from his meditation. But it didn’t. He didn’t even twitch. Sasuke allowed his eyes to move from the bead of sweat to the spanse of his broad shoulders; and then to his bicep, which, even relaxed was impressive in form. Sasuke had always been slightly jealous of the obvious strength of Naruto’s body. He was clearly built for feats of endurance and strength while Sasuke was built for quick attacks. With the exception of Naruto and his brother, he’d hardly had any reason to worry; his fights were always over well before his strength became a concern. But, with surprise, Sasuke noticed his feelings on observing Naruto’s body were nothing close to jealousy now. It was undeniable desire that Sasuke felt. 

At the time he had no idea what the feelings would  _ mean _ , though. He’d considered for a moment he may be gay. But he felt no attraction to other men. Even men he could admit in an objective sense were attractive. He thought he may have just awakened a sexuality that had bloomed later than most. But try as he may, he felt no attraction to anyone, save Naruto. And, despite his determination to never act on those feelings, he could not simply deny or repress them.

He struggled with that feeling for years. He’d been back and forth from the village, staying a few weeks, leaving a few weeks and while he’d maintained a friendship with Naruto and Sakura, even Lord Hokage Kakashi, he tried to maintain a distance. He was aware they just thought that was who he was, so he was never worried they’d discover his motivations. But to his great shame, he couldn’t deny them to himself. Every time he went on a mission with Naruto, he found himself in such great temptation he’d remove himself, mid mission sometimes, to calm his nerves. 

On this particular mission, Naruto and he had found a spring that provided much needed respite. They’d been searching for a missing nin; a mercenary. He was no match for them, of course, but he was incredibly adept at  _ hiding. _ So 4 days into their search in the forest just outside a small town and a few days out of Konoha, they were feeling slightly defeated. When they found the spring mid day, Naruto was so relieved to find it, he gave no care to discretion, he simply stripped and dove in. 

Sasuke was immediately and awkwardly hard. He needed more than a good meditation. He’d been told of the bathhouse in the nearby town and the last time Naruto had stretched and his shirt rode up to reveal his stomach, Sasuke had given it thought. He had no idea how to come onto someone but he’d never had any problem attracting anyone before (besides  _ this moron.)  _ So he hoped it would be simple to just be approachable and allow them to come to him. He turned away and called over his shoulder, “I’m going into town. I’ll be back at nightfall.”

If Sasuke were  _ brutally _ honest with himself he was a bit unnerved when he considered what he’d actually  _ do  _ once he arrived at the bath house. This close to Konoha, he may run into someone who knew him, but it was unlikely. However, this village was just off a main road that would lead to the land of Wind and several smaller nations, so it was certainly one of the more popular among Shinobi. He walked, not ran, to the village and walked the village some before actually going to the bathhouse.

When he finally entered, he went directly to the bar, and ordered a drink to calm his anxiety. He found, though, that he would have rather remained apprehensive because when the alcohol set into his system and the raw edge of his nerves faded, he could only think of Naruto. He thought of his back muscles when he stretched in the morning. And the way he tossed his arms back and forth to loosen his muscles after a spar. He remembered with great detail how firm and muscled his ass was as he ran headlong into the spring and how, despite knowing better than to look, Sasuke still caught a glimpse of his cock swing between his legs as he went. What bothered him the most was that, even when considering Naruto as a sexual object, he couldn’t shake the man’s smile. The twinkle of mischievousness in his brilliantly blue eyes when he laughed was sure to be his undoing; it made him want to devour him. He wanted simultaneously to wipe the smirk off his face by roughly kissing it away and also do whatever he could to make it last forever. 

Such was his turmoil of feelings for Naruto. He wanted him. And he thrived by being his friend. He wasn’t stupid. He knew exactly what that meant. And it wasn’t lust. And it wasn’t friendship. It was both and more. He sighed and turned around in his seat and looked around. The facility had a glass door that led to the co-ed bath and from his vantage point, he had a decently thorough view of the room. It was packed, but it did seem like there was a small crowd leaving. He scanned the group leaving for anyone who would suffice to relieve his frustrations, but none appealed to him. He thought he’d be stuck grinding his teeth and closing his eyes and  _ pretending _ . The thought made him incredibly displeased, though and he sighed in frustration.  _ This wasn’t going to work.  _ He scanned the patrons and desperately looked for someone to spark even a mild interest, but he found every person wanting.

_ He’s here. _ The sudden feel of Naruto’s chakra had him feeling both dread and excitement. In fact, he went instantly hard. Again. He had no idea how he’d explain his presence here but if Naruto was here, also, then he was most likely here to find him. The chakra sensing worked both ways; Naruto knew he was here. There was no point in trying to avoid him. He looked around and didn’t see him. He scoured the crowd; searched each face for the whiskers, each head for the bright blonde hair. He wasn’t there. But Sasuke could  _ feel _ him. He  _ knew _ he was there.

Sasuke closed his eyes and concentrated on the feel of Naruto. He turned towards the sensation and slowly opened his eyes. There were just three people in the hot baths, now. Two men and a woman. None were Naruto. Or at least not the Naruto he’d known all his life. The two men had flanked the girl and he noted with contempt they clearly had intentions with her. He narrowed his eyes, knowing one was Naruto and as he approached the door, the answer became obvious. 

The woman was reclined back and had her eyes closed. She looked bored. She had dark blonde hair, a light orange bathing suit and the kicker? She had one whiskered scar on either side of her face. It was as if Naruto just couldn’t let go of who he was, even when he was attempting to blend in. Did he honestly think he could spy on Sasuke? That Sasuke wouldn’t notice him? 

The thought made Sasuke both angry and, again, eager. He didn’t know why Naruto had so much interest in spying on him when he was obviously trying to blow off some steam, but he did feel an uncontrollable urge to punish him for it. Sparring wasn’t the kind of physical release he’d planned this evening, but it may be the only option available to him, with this moron following him.

He held the door open and narrowed his eyes on the female Naruto. She heard the door and looked at him in complete shock. He wondered if it was possible Naruto had no idea he was there. His voice rumbled deeply. “Get out.” He pointed at She-Naruto. “You stay.”

The two men seemed indignant and scoffed, ready to object, and Sasuke’s ire built and he activated his sharingan. Both men were obviously ninja, but he didn’t recognize either so he thought it unlikely this would ruin their mission. But just in case, he put them both in a genjutsu and had them guard the door for 2 hours. And then forget they’d ever seen either of them.

She-Naruto smirked. “Well, you don’t mess around, do ya, big guy?”

_ Big guy?  _ Sasuke just kept himself from calling her a moron. Naruto would never call Sasuke that. He was more and more sure this idiot had forgotten they could sense each other’s chakra.  _ Fuck, he really was a moron. _ He shook his head and slipped his shirt off, noting that Naruto’s breath caught when he did.

“I just thought we had some things we should deal with, don’t you think?” He was hedging his bets. He didn’t want to let Naruto think he’d fooled him, but there was some appeal to the way her breath caught. And then she smiled. Her eyes twinkled exactly the same and her smile still pulled at him. He narrowed his eyes.

“Huh. You seem pretty sure  _ I  _ have interest in what  _ you _ want dealt with. I’ll have you know I’m quite the fighter.” 

Sasuke looked at her incredulously. “You think I want to fight you for  _ sex?” _

“Is there another reason you’d lock us in here?” She didn’t seem at all worried as she lifted her arms and relaxed each on the sides behind her. Of course she didn’t. She was Naruto.

Sasuke rose a questioning brow. “Oh, I can think of several.” He slipped off his pants and entered the water in just his underwear. He shrugged. “So we’re on even ground. I’m nothing if not chivalrous.” 

She burst out laughing and it made him smile as well. Naruto was clearly enjoying this. But he had no idea if he was enjoying it because he thought he was fooling Sasuke or because he knew he’d been caught.

Sasuke decided to test it. “Do you mind, then,  _ my lady _ , if I sit next to you?”

Naruto flushed and her eyes widened. “W-why?”

Sasuke smirked. “Why do you think?”

Naruto’s breath caught again. “It’s just… You don’t seem like the type. To … ya know.”

“Ah, but here I am. And you as well.” He sat down a few feet away from her. “This ok? I don’t want to offend.”

Naruto’s eyes narrowed. “You  _ are _ chivalrous. This  _ is _ a surprise.” She scooted closer. “You’re not at all like I’d thought you’d be.”

Sasuke sat back and smiled victorious. “Oh? And you know me from where?”

“Oh! I mean, it’s just, everyone knows  _ you _ . You’re part of the team that saved the world, right?”

Sasuke snorted, determined to push a bit more. “I don’t really think that  _ team _ did much of the work.”

“Hey! Fuck off, bastard!”

He smiled in victory again. “Taking that personally, aren’t you?”

“Well. I mean, I’m a shinobi. I saw stuff. I was there.”

“If you were there, then you were asleep.” 

“Oh yeah. Then I definitely was. But still! I heard plenty about it! Sakura-chan is crazy strong! She healed like, everyone there! So, ya know. Me too!”

“Hmpf. So she saved  _ you. _ But there were only  _ two _ people that saved the world.”

She opened her mouth to argue and froze. “Are you saying… your other teammate? He  _ helped _ you?”

“Fuck no. He didn’t  _ help _ me.” Sasuke watched as Naruto bristled and sat back. Amusement lit his face and he decided to go another route. “I  _ helped him.” _

She looked up at Sasuke with surprise at first and suddenly her entire face warmed. No, her entire body. She scoot close again, this time closer. He couldn’t help the smile from spreading.  _ No chance Naruto knew. _

“Sounds like you care an awful lot about him.” She crawled into his lap and straddled him, surprising Sasuke into speechlessness. And it was her turn to smile smugly. “Hmm?”

“He’s a moron.” She pouted adorably. “He’s my best friend.” She melted. Sasuke swore he could  _ see  _ her melt.

He had one moment to consider his options before his brain fried. Would it be fair to do this, without being completely honest about it?  _ Bullshit. _ Naruto wasn’t being  _ honest _ with him, he owed  _ her _ no such reciprocation. 

Was this what he wanted?  _ She  _ wasn’t Naruto. But she was. Was it even possible for him to become aroused enough without  _ his  _ face and  _ his _ body?

She smiled again and he looked into her eyes, searching. It took very little time for him to assess that looking into those eyes and being sexually pleased was  _ definitely _ a thing he could do. She pressed down into his lap and felt his hardness instantly and whimpered.

“Do you plan on continuing to wear  _ that?” _ Sasuke nodded forward and tried to make it clear he meant the henge. One last out for Naruto. If he released the henge now, while on his lap, pressing against his erection, he was fairly certain he would climax immediately. Of course, Naruto misinterpreted his words as a reference to her bathing suit.

She chuckled lightly and shook her head. “I have to admit, this is  _ much _ better than how I expected this trip to turn out.”

Sasuke smiled wickedly. “Oh? Were you expecting one of them?” He gestured to the door being guarded by the two ninja who’d been sitting too close to her a few moments ago.

She laughed again, good naturedly. “God no. I just needed to unwind. Sex wasn’t on my mind. If they’d have touched me I’d have broken their arms.”

“Hmm. Touch you… like this?” He dragged the back of his fingers to run along Naruto’s face and she closed her eyes into the touch. While her eyes were closed, Sasuke leaned forward and breathed Naruto. Her smell was the same as his. He closed his eyes as he ran his nose lightly along her neck and thrust tentatively up into her. She groaned so low, Sasuke thought she actually sounded like Naruto at that moment.  _ Yes, he could definitely work with this. _ “And what should I call you?”

“Hmmm, huh?” 

“Name?” Sasuke pulled back to look at her bewildered face.

Naruto’s eyes twinkled with mischief. “How about Sakura?”

Sasuke glared playfully back at her. “Oh, then you  _ don’t _ want fucked?”

Naruto laughed lightly and then her laughter tempered off. “No, I think I really do.”

Sasuke felt his face soften. He may not realize Sasuke knew who  _ he  _ was… but Naruto knew this was Sasuke. He  _ knew _ . And he wanted him. 

He cleared his throat, desperate to get some sense back to his mind. “It’s never been Sakura for me. I think you know that already though. Didn’t you?”

Naruto nodded. “You don’t want to be worshipped.”

“No, I do not.”

“Being worshipped isn’t real. You’d rather have someone accept you, flaws and all than someone ignore the real you to make a fake version as some feather in their cap.”

Sasuke nodded. Naruto understood him. Much to his extreme displeasure in his youth; he always had. There was no sense denying that anymore.

He slowly closed the space between them and let their lips touch lightly before pulling away slightly. “What should I call you?”

Her eyes were still closed and she was completely dazed.“What do you  _ want _ to call me?”

“Naruko” He said it immediately and without thought.

That made her eyes open quickly. “That’s awfully close to your  _ other _ teammate.”

Sasuke smirked and dove in for a much more aggressive kiss. “Don’t be an idiot.”

His hand slid down to her waist in the water, digging into her hip as he bit and devoured her mouth. She was receptive, but unmoving in his lap. He pulled back just slightly to look at her in concern. He let his hand fall to his side. He hated looking into Naruto’s face and not seeing  _ him. _ He resented the hell out of him for it, and his concern in  _ Naruko’s _ shock turned an edge towards resentment. He tried to focus on her eyes, the eyes of Naruto. But he couldn’t stop the glare.

Oddly enough, it made her relax. She chuckled at him. “Now I’m more concerned you’re going to chidori me.”

He raised his eyebrows and felt his anger ease. “Hmmm, you  _ do _ know a lot about me.”

Naruto pulled back in embarrassment. “Oh. Um. Yeah. Well, don’t most people know about Chidori? I’m a ninja, right? I should know about elite ninjutsu! Of course I know about it.” Naruto’s embarrassment seemed to be talking himself into a fluster before steering more towards annoyance. “And everyone knows how you chidori-d your  _ best friend. _ And now you want to call me Naruko. Of course I’m going to be worried!”

Sasuke’s hand crept slowly up Naruto’s thigh and back to her waist to still her before clearing his throat and looking down where she sat on his lap. “Not that I mind the wiggling, but keep in mind where you are doing so.”

“Oh. Right. Uh…” While talking, her hands were always moving and now that she had stopped, she didn’t seem to know where to put them. She tried placing them across her chest, but didn’t seem satisfied with that. She placed them on either side of Sasuke, not quite touching him but that didn’t please her either. Sasuke grabbed her wrists and brought her hands to his chest with a quirked brow before placing his hand on her hip again.

“Rest assured. I don’t want to call you Naruko because I want to put a chidori through your chest.”

She shifted, and their middles met in delicious friction that had Sasuke clenching his jaw and flaring his nostrils. She seemed as surprised at first, but quickly recovered.

She whispered harshly, “Then why  _ do  _ you want to call me that?”

Sasuke gripped her waist and rolled his hips, making her grab onto his shoulders and shiver all over. She sucked in her bottom lip and breathed in deeply. He smirked and risked it, “Don’t overthink it, Dobe.” 

Her eyes widened before he stood with her, holding her around the waist and turned around to drop her on the side of the ledge with a plop.

“Hey!” She caught herself, leaning back on her hands with her feet still in the water. 

Sasuke stood upright, apart from her, allowing her to take in his aroused state. Naruto’s eyes went directly to his fully hard cock and she swallowed deeply. It was enough to make Sasuke want to laugh. But he had something else in mind. He concentrated his lightning chakra to his fingertips and it resembled his regular chidori to a smaller degree.  

“W-What are you doing?” Naruto was visibly shaking and as much as he wanted to tease her more, he found he couldn’t bear to scare Naruto in this situation. He smiled and leaned forward to kiss her softly before touching his own chest with his chidori fingertips, allowing her to see it wasn’t painful. Then he slowly moved his hand to her leg, allowing the light electricity to trail up the inside of her thigh. Her reaction was immediate; her mouth fell open and her eyes fell half closed. Goosebumps covered her body and she breathed out a whispered “Ah.”

“Hm. I thought I could change what you think of when you think of chidori.” He leaned into her, lightly pushing her back to lay on the floor and trailed kisses down her neck. As his kisses trailed down, his hand moved up. His mouth reached hers as his fingertips reached her core. As the first electricity pulsed Naruto’s sensitive flesh, she jolted up into Sasuke’s mouth and he happily swallowed her cry. He pushed the suit to the side and lightly rubbed up and down her folds. 

Naruto bit down on Sasuke’s lip and he chuckled darkly. He slipped his middle finger inside slowly and let his thumb rest on her clit. He curled his finger inside her in time with his thumb’s strokes. He started slow, allowing her time to adjust and squirm. By the time she was panting he was more than piqued to see her come undone. He picked up his pace and intensity making Naruto frenzied.

“Sasuke, Please.” She had her eyes closed and was thrashing her head back and forth.

“Open your eyes.” He commanded harshly and as soon as their eyes met, Sasuke’s cock jerked and leaked and Naruto came undone. She called out his name and it was in such a low voice Sasuke was sure that Naruto’s own voice was what came out.

Sasuke observed her post orgasm glow in awe. She was beautiful, even objectively he could note that. But the shy smile when she looked up at him and the blissful twinkle in her eyes? That was  _ all  _ Naruto. And he was momentarily speechless while he watched her -  _ him - _ come down. He allowed his chakra to recenter and his chidori to cease.

He found it interesting that Naruto had climaxed from body parts he didn’t strictly have. Sasuke had always wondered about the physiology of a henge. Did the transformed flesh perform the same as it would if it were “normal”? He no longer had to ask that.

“Well, I guess that answers the question of physiology.”

“Huh?”

Sasuke smiled and shook his head, “Nevermind.” He plopped down next to her, allowing her rest. Or that was his intention at least. No sooner had he laid back than Naruto pounced on top of him, kissing him hotly before standing. Sliding her straps off her shoulders and down her body she stood in the water just long enough to pull her suit off completely and grab Sasuke’s underwear and pull them off with a none too gentle yank. He grunted a laugh. Well, they didn’t call Naruto the number 1 unpredictable ninja for nothing.

“Not done, eh?”

“Not in the least.” She smiled broadly and crawled back on top of him, straddling him. The second her hot flesh met his, the both gasped. She recovered quickly, slowly sliding her hips up and down over his length covering him in wetness.

Much to his chagrin, he was not as controlled. He grasped her thigh tightly and arched his back off the floor cursing. “Fuuuuuck.”

She reached between them and rose up on her knees before grasping his cock and stroking it down her center. “Hmm. Wet. That  _ is _ convenient.”

Which, had Sasuke not known she was actually a male, would have seemed a very odd thing to say. But he did. And if he were being completely honest with himself, his thought process was beyond all power of comprehension at that point. 

She smirked and Sasuke knew she was loving the switch in power. And while he knew this wasn’t Naruto the way he preferred, he also knew  _ give and take _ was the only way any kind of relationship between them ever had or ever would work.

She held him straight up and eased herself slowly onto his cock. She lowered at an excruciatingly slow pace but didn’t stop until she was sitting on him, his cock fully seated inside her. Both his and her breathing were strained but even. While she sat to let them both adjust, she looked down at him and their eyes met.

There was no humor in their eyes when they took in the other. It was only an awareness at how big this moment was. It was clear neither had any idea what was next, but this moment was one that would change things. And while he wasn’t anywhere near comfortable saying it was love he saw or felt, he had to admit to himself this was not the kind of look he’d ever have shared with another person. It felt like a  _ Naruto _ look.

She leaned down to kiss him tenderly. He was grateful for the break, if he were being honest; it allowed him a chance to prevent embarrassment by coming too quickly. But as her tender kisses turned to open mouth kisses, he allowed his hip movements to match her tongue thrusts and soon they were both panting. 

She sat back up and grabbed his hand and sucked in his first two fingers into her mouth. She rocked on him in building tempo, searching for an angle that hit her spot just right. Sasuke tilted his hips slightly forward and her thrusts immediately turned frantic. Her slew of moans and whimpers had him struggling to maintain any kind of control. He let her ride him, sucking his fingers, moaning around them and just closed his eyes thinking that he’d never be the same.

“Sasuke, I’m gonna… Fuck, Sas…” She froze and let go of his hand and let her hands go to each of his biceps, crying out his name again. 

As she froze, he grasped her hip and used his legs to thrust up and continue the sweet friction. Her screams went on for several moments before his own climax approached.

Just as he was about to climax, he grabbed her throat and brought her back down for an open mouthed, open eyed kiss. She grabbed at his hair desperately trying to get closer as they rode their orgasms out.

When the tremors ended, she pulled away from him and lay down next to him, staring in amazement. Sasuke clumsily reached to the wall and grabbed an oversized towel to wrap her in.

“Holy fuck. I had no idea it would be like this.”

“I did.”

They smiled warmly at each other, wordlessly as they drifted off to a short sleep. 

Sasuke was awoken by one of the men he’d put in a genjutsu walking into the bath in a confused daze. He was glad he’d covered Naruko before falling asleep, but he made sure to discreetly dress her again. She did wake and looked at him questioning. He smiled at her with amusement and shrugged. He kissed her forehead and helped her to the lounge chair outside the bath.. “Sleep a bit more. You earned it.”

“Am I going to see you again?” Naruko’s voice was soft and groggy.

“Of course you will. Although I’m not sure I’ll see you.” He brushed her hair aside as she looked at him with a question in her eyes. “Sleep.” He used a bit of his genjutsu to coax her to sleep because he couldn’t bear the awkwardness should she try to follow him. It was so weak she would only sleep a few minutes. Of all that had just happened it was the only thing he felt a bit guilty about.


	4. Chapter 4

As Sasuke walked out of the bath house, his mirth was slowly tainted by the thought of having to face Naruto, one on one in the woods momentarily. He was admittedly distracted when he turned to leave the village and ran into a man about his height. He stepped back, scowling and realized… it was the missing nin. He would  _ not _ have to face Naruto alone anytime soon.

“Ah, thank  _ fuck.” _ He trapped the nin in a genjutsu and escorted him happily back to the spring. He found a Naruto clone there. 

“Where’s Naruto?” Sasuke asked smugly. He was wondering if the clone had been told anything. If he was supposed to lie, then the only reason would be if Naruto wanted to hide that he was going to find Sasuke. If the clone told Sasuke the truth, then he’d know that it was 100% a happy accident that he’d found  _ Naruko _ .

“He’s in town. He said he’d be back before you, but just in case I’m supposed to wait.”

“Why did he go to town? I thought he was going to swim.”

“He said it was too cold.”

Sasuke hid his smile. So it  _ had _ been unplanned.

And then Naruto came bursting through the trees. When he saw Sasuke, he flushed brightly and avoided his eyes. Sasuke watched him with interest but kept his face blank. He didn’t trust himself to not give away anything.

“Oh! Sasuke! Um… Hi. I was just… I mean…” He pointed back the way he’d come and stammered. 

“You went to town?”

“Oh. Um. Yeah. That. Yeah, that is... what I did.”

“Did you get anything good?” He just barely kept his face blank as Naruto paled.

“Um….huh?”

“Supplies? Intel…?”

“Oh! No, I didn’t. No.”

“Hn.” Sasuke pointed to the restrained prisoner who was obviously in a genjutsu mere 5 feet from Naruto. “I wonder why I needed  _ you _ on this mission at all.”

“Hey!” Naruto snapped in anger and then smiled and exhaled in relief. “Sweet. Good job.” Naruto dispelled the clone and stopped in his tracks. “Hey, when did you have time for that?!”

Sasuke quirked a brow. “I  _ was _ gone for about 3 hours.”

“Yeah. But…” Naruto trailed off, realizing he couldn’t say any more without giving himself away.

“Not all of us spend our time in useless ventures.”

Naruto narrowed his eyes and growled. Sasuke smiled a slight challenging smirk.

“Let’s just go, bastard. I don’t want to sleep out here.”

“We’re still two days from Konoha. You’re not sleeping in your bed tonight either way.”

“But I’m not going to be sleeping for a long time still. We may as well get moving. Unless you’re tired?”

Sasuke shrugged. He was actually pretty wired. “No, that’s acceptable. I’ll take first shift carrying him, but you’re getting a shift tonight before we stop, too.”

“Fine with me.”

They packed their belongings back up and soared through the trees. Sasuke loved to travel at night. It was quiet save for nocturnal creatures and he found the cover of dark both beneficial and comforting. No one could see if he let his apathetic face falter.

“You seem ... _ happy.”  _ Of course Naruto would still notice the change; dark or no.

“Why wouldn’t I be? We found the bad guy, we’re going home.”

“Oh. Right.”

“Is there another reason I should be happy?”

“No! No. I just … I guess I was wondering where you were all day.”

Sasuke smirked and pointed to their captive. “We did talk about this.”

“Oh. Right.”

“Did you enjoy yourself in the village?”

Naruto tripped and almost fell out of the tree.

Sasuke laughed at him and Naruto narrowed his eyes. “Hey, shut up! That wasn’t my fault. Town was  _ fine. _ Just… shut up.”

The more uncomfortable and tense Naruto was, the more relaxed and amused Sasuke was. So they spent their journey back to the village mostly in silence. Which suited them both fine. Neither trusted themselves to not give too much away and Sasuke caught Naruto sweeping longing looks over him periodically. Talking would only ruin that and Sasuke wanted to take the trip back to relive his afternoon in the bath house.

He’d be lying if he tried to convince himself that he didn’t also spend the next 2 days imagining what would happen next. He hadn’t considered a relationship before but the way Naruto had so clearly  _ wanted _ him made him think otherwise. 

He couldn’t give Naruto a family. Naruto couldn’t help him rebuild his clan. Those were facts he had to account for. He could find a surrogate. But that was never something his clan had done before, at least not openly. He’d never heard anything of it. And openly gay members would never have become clan heads. But since he was the last living Uchiha, he could do whatever the fuck he wanted. 

Trailing behind Naruto, a few feet below him made him appear to be even bigger. Have an even larger presence. And while they ran he rather enjoyed imagining he was chasing him. He kept pace but didn’t gain on him. He let him have the lead. He was thoroughly enjoying his view. He allowed himself to imagine what he would do if he  _ were _ chasing him; what he’d do to catch him; what he’d do once he caught him. He found himself smiling darkly to himself. At the same time he smiled, Naruto looked down at him and smiled a mirroring, dark smile, back at him. It was almost as if he was reading his thoughts. Though he wouldn’t be surprised; Naruto was always able to read him better than anyone else. Naruto’s smile fell but his eyes stay clouded and he licked his lips slowly watching Sasuke. The eye contact was over in just a moment, they needed to focus on running through trees, but the look was so charged that it was nearly overwhelming.

Fuck his clan; it could die off and he wouldn’t care at all, if only he could have Naruto. 

* * *

While reporting to the hokage, Naruto stumbled over his every word. It was embarrassing for Sasuke to watch. Naruto was preoccupied and it was obvious to everyone there. And everyone there happened to be everyone that  _ mattered _ . Tsunade was visiting and sitting in, Kakashi, of course, a few elders and a slew of advisors, including Shikamaru. 

During a particularly cringeworthy stumble, Sasuke found himself thinking  _ This moron will never be Hokage. _

And it hit him rather suddenly. He thought of the calm boy meditating when they were in the hospital. And then how chaotic he’d been when they were children. He wasn’t going to accept the blame for Naruto’s erratic behavior, but he did start to form a theory that he was making it worse. He didn’t think he made him nervous, really, but he did know he felt the need to show off around him. And it make him look ridiculous. Even incompetent. He wanted to test his theory. 

“Excuse me, Lord Hokage. I apologize for the interruption, I will be right right back.” Naruto looked after him, concerned, but as he closed the door behind him, he listened in. Naruto stopped stumbling over his words almost immediately.

It was definitely  _ his  _ presence that made Naruto an idiot.

Which pissed him off. There were high level shinobi in that room and most of them knew Naruto well enough to notice the change and be able to discern the cause. There was no way they wouldn’t call Naruto out for this. No chance they wouldn’t make everything awkward.

He took a minute to allow Naruto to get through the bulk of the report before returning; it was a standard mission, not a lot to report, really. When he entered, he expected knowing smiles and snide remarks. He got none. Naruto looked at him questioning and opened his mouth to ask something, before he shook his head slightly at him.  _ Idiot was making it so obvious. _ But no one batted an eye. They acted as if it was all common place for Naruto to act this way. 

Maybe it was. Maybe Sasuke just had chalked it all up to Naruto being a moron, but his actions actually spoke to something larger. And if they did… that meant everyone already knew. They  _ knew  _ Sasuke was his weakness.

There was a chance Naruto would become more comfortable over time. Especially if they entered into a relationship. In fact, it was likely. But would it be soon enough? Kakashi had, at best, 10 years in him as Hokage. Likely less. And Naruto needed to establish himself as the most suitable successor well before then. Under ordinary circumstances, that wouldn’t be a problem even with his bumbling. 

But this was Konoha. Lady 5th’s apprentice was here. And she was arguably better than Tsunade had ever been. And, though he’d never accept the hat, Shikamaru would be an excellent candidate, as well. Hell, in 10 years, Konahomaru may be ready. Kiba would kill for the title. The fact was, in Konoha, there were plenty of spectacular shinobi who would make good leaders.

Naruto was stronger than them all, of course. And the hero of the village to boot. But if he spent any amount of time looking to the world like a hyperactive, insecure idiot, then there was a pretty decent chance he would not get that hat.

_... _

_ Fuck. _

 


	5. Chapter 5

It wasn’t a decision Sasuke came to lightly. He knew Naruto. He knew himself. He wasn’t just blindly deciding their real desires should be ignored in favor of a more socially acceptable life. That what they really wanted in life should be discarded offhandedly. He knew the pragmatic reasons.

He could not rebuild a clan with Naruto. Or at least, not by traditional standards.

He would never bear children for Naruto. And Naruto deserved to be the father he never had the opportunity to know.

But, Sasuke’s primary motivation for allowing Naruto to slip away? He needed to be built up. He needed a life that gave him unshaken confidence. He needed it to be the best Hokage he could be. And Sasuke’s role in Naruto’s life would _always_ be to challenge him. And he would continue to do so. But he knew Naruto at least gave pause to his decisions when Sasuke was there. He knew Naruto cared how his decisions affected Sasuke and how they may be molded into creating a world where Itachi’s story could never happen.

And while that wasn’t a _bad_ thing necessarily, it made him less than what he could be. He needed the world to worship him. And while Naruto may realize it on some level, there was no question in Sasuke’s mind that he didn’t really know why. He likely thought it was because his childhood had left him with emotional baggage that required more bolstering than a normal person would need. But the truth of the matter; the truth only Sasuke saw, was that Naruto needed to be worshipped so that he would act with decisiveness when the time came.

Even as they fought together with the world at stake, Naruto had ultimately yielded to Sasuke’s plans. He complained about it, of course, but he ultimately did what _Sasuke_ thought was best. Naruto made reckless, sometimes idiotic decisions. But, as much as he hated to admit it, nine of ten times, they turned out perfectly. And he knew to trust that Naruto would always do what was best for the village. Sasuke would not do so.

The Hokage of the Hidden Leaf needed to be able to stand on his own. And Sasuke had to allow him the opportunity to do that.

When Sasuke had conceded Naruto’s victory after their last battle, Naruto had been surprised and humbled. But what Naruto took his concession as was _not_ what it was. Or at least not _only_ what it was. Naruto understood it as Sasuke acknowledging their friendship and Naruto as an equal. Finally.

But Sasuke did nothing by halves. He knew he was doing more than just that. He wasn’t acknowledging Naruto’s skill as equal. He was saying it was _superior_ to his own. He was conceding that Naruto was the most powerful ninja alive. But all Naruto saw was how that reflected directly to their relationship. And Sasuke struggled for a very long time to come to terms with what that meant. It meant that Naruto didn’t just need acknowledgement from him. He needed it from the _world._ Naruto was wise, even if careless. He had the best heart of anyone Sasuke knew and he was the strongest ninja. He had everything he needed to become the greatest Kage of all time. Except the confidence. And Sasuke knew that was something he couldn’t give him. The one thing he could do for Naruto… was to give him up.

Sasuke knew in his heart and in his mind it would never be permanent. He knew the blonde would never _really_ give up on him, even if he didn’t know all the circumstances surrounding the decisions he had made on Naruto’s behalf. And of course, he knew he’d never _really_ let him go; even if he had to by all visible standards. His heart _only_ felt for Naruto, he knew it wouldn’t stop. But it was necessary. For the good of the world, but more importantly to Sasuke, for the good of his blonde.

Besides, he knew it wouldn’t be the end of his life. He could have other purposes, also. He had a woman that was completely willing to accept the very limited affection he would bestow upon a wife. He had the opportunity to be guilt free in his life, even if it meant not being in love with his wife. He could be completely honest with her and he knew it would not deter her. She would understand because she, too, loved Naruto in her own way. No one understood how complicated his feelings for Naruto were better than Sakura. She would be the mother of the Uchiha clan with pride, never once allowing jealousy to ruin it. She was strong in every way Sasuke knew a woman could be and he was proud to have her as his wife, even if he could not ever fall in love with her. She was a good woman.

And he was reasonably confident that, should Naruto ever pull his head out of his ass, Hinata would handle the circumstances similarly. She liked to think she loved Naruto, but Sasuke knew she was simply enthralled by him. She had no real knowledge of who Naruto was; she never had. She looked at him with stars in her eyes and saw all his potential - but none of his weaknesses. Yes, she would be an ideal mate for the Hokage. She would wear the mantle of Hokage’s wife with pride. She would be the pillar of respect and honor for her family. And, no matter how Naruto chose to handle whatever realization he came to regarding their lives, he knew Naruto would never dishonor her. And, when he realized he was in fact, in love with Sasuke, he would not let Naruto act in any way he may regret later.

He knew Naruto. It was entirely likely once he realized his entire life was essentially a sacrifice that he and Sasuke had made, he would be inclined to grand gestures that disregarded everyone but Sasuke. Naruto was a romantic, even if he didn’t care to admit. Sasuke was eager to share more of his life with Naruto and waiting killed him a little more every day. But he knew as soon as Naruto managed to accept the reality of his marriage, and to accept that Sasuke was his; that he always _had been,_ he’d probably have to face a lot of that _sentimentality_ being thrust upon him.

It turned out, however, he didn’t have to worry about that. Because Naruto’s realization had nothing to do with him.

And it was absolutely infuriating. He couldn’t resist reminding him of their time together by quoting him - Er, _her._ And when Naruto _still_ didn’t put two and two together, he couldn’t resist revealing he knew exactly who he was the entire time. He still couldn’t believe that Naruto genuinely thought that he’d fooled him for almost a decade.

But knowing that he did think so gave him peace of mind on why Naruto had bought into his marriage to Sakura so easily. If anyone should know better than to think he was _in love_ with Sakura it should have been Naruto. If he were being honest with himself he did occasionally feel guilty for his marriage. But when he had those moments, they were easily pushed aside. All he had to do was say them to his wife and she brushed them away. Her strength was never short of amazing to him and while he would never be _in love_ with her, he found that he did grow to love her in his own way. For Sasuke, he found much more important than love, was respect. And she had his respect unlike anyone else had managed (besides Naruto.)

The day that Sakura and Sasuke had become more than former teammates was probably surprisingly unemotional by most people’s standards. She’d asked him for tea and they discussed matters as if they were negotiations. It was all very open, practical and Sasuke had come to realize it was all he could have ever wanted in the wake of Naruto’s absence.

* * *

“You wanted to meet?” Sasuke took a sip of his tea and gave a blank look at Sakura as she sat across him in the cafe.

“Yes. I have a proposition for you.”

Sasuke could feel his face hardening. To say he’d been in a bad mood the past few months was an understatement. Naruto’s announcement of his wedding to Hinata had definitely had an effect and he hated being in the village when the whole place was buzzing about the wedding. The absolute last thing he wanted to deal with right now was his own fan girl propositioning him.

Sakura gave a humoring smile; he knew she could see his aversion to whatever stupid fucking proposition she was going to make. But she wasn’t blushing, so that was a good sign at least.

“Look, I’ve come to realize the reality of us. Naruto. You. Me. I know that for me, there will never be anyone else. I just can’t even fathom it, Sasuke. It’s you. You’re all I’ll ever even entertain the idea of.” She shrugged, not shy or embarrassed in any way and Sasuke had to admit that she had definitely outgrown the school girl crush. She spoke to him matter of fact; practical and reasonable. It was a conversation, not a gushing. “But I’m not an idiot. I’m not blind, and despite what I _know_ you think of me; I’m not some crazy fangirl. I _know_ what that you don’t love me; not like that. I’ve long since given up even _wanting_ that, I think. As much as I know for me; it’s you… I understand as fully that for you, it’ll never be _me._ ” She inhaled deeply and exhaled a long breathe. “I know it’s him.”

Sasuke began to protest and his scowl deepened but Sakura held up her hand and shook her head. “No, stop. I can’t even remember when I realized it, but it’s been a long time that I’ve had to come to terms with it. And I think it took me just a fraction of a moment longer than it must have taken you to realize that there isn’t a _happily ever after_ there. At least not now.” She dropped her hand to touch his. “But there may be one day. If you want to wait for a different scenario, I understand. But if you want to have a life in the meantime; one that won’t make it harder on you if he ever gets his head out of his ass, I can give you that, too.”

“You want to be a consolation prize? You want to waste your life on something that isn’t real?” His words were sharp and spat, meant as an insult and they barely even fazed her. That struck him as significant. She wasn’t hurt or crushed as she would have been. She took his words and accepted them, without anger. If anything, she looked annoyed with _him._

“Uchiha Sasuke, I would be the wife of one of the most powerful clans to have ever existed, I hardly think that’s a consolation prize.” She looked at him hard. “And I just told you I’d never have another. But I would like a family. What’s better? Having an open and honest relationship with a man I’ve loved my whole life; one who can love me as much I need. Or spend my life alone?”

Sasuke looked at her considering.

“I’m not begging you for anything Sasuke. This isn’t a kindness you’d be doing for me, I’m not desperately asking you for anything. I’m _offering_ you something. It’s a chance. For us both. I don’t mean to brag, but I _do_ have an operational uterus.” She gave him a flat look. “Do you want to the Uchiha to die with you?”

Sasuke’s shoulders slumped despite himself. Sakura rolled her eyes and shook her head. “Just think it over, ok? I know you’re about to leave again. Naruto’s wedding is in a few days. I know you aren’t staying for that.” She shot him a glare. “But I sure as shit will not give him your excuses, so you sort that out on your own.”

“Hn.” Sasuke’s fist clenched and he refused to meet her eyes again. What she was saying made sense. Even if it was ficking terrible. But, as Sasuke had learned several times over in his life; just because something was fucking terrible didn’t mean it could be ignored.

Did he want children? Did he want the Uchiha line to end? If there was any upside to Naruto being an absolute moron, this could be it. He really did need to consider this in depth before he made a decision. But Sakura was right; he’d have plenty of time outside the village to do so. He was definitely _not_ going to Naruto’s wedding.

But he didn’t go far enough away. He stayed a few miles outside the village to avoid feeling Naruto’s emotions over the bond. But he was surprised how far they reached him. Before the ceremony he felt genuine excitement. During what had to be the ceremony, he felt Naruto’s love over the bond. It felt hollow, but it was still powerful and intense. He felt betrayed and he did his best to stomp it out because it was Naruto’s wedding day. And that night he felt Naruto’s lust. It wasn’t as uncontrollable as it had been when Naruto was _Naruko_ ; Sasuke did take a small amount of comfort in that. But it was real. And it felt like he had been run through by Madara all over again. He ran as fast as he could and as far as he could before he passed out. He did _not_ want Naruto to feel the pain he was feeling through the bond. Again; it was his wedding night. That wouldn’t be fair.

But nothing was fair. Nothing was as it should be. Fucking Naruto. Fucking _Hinata._ Sasuke couldn’t even think her name without scowling. How dare she think she could satisfy Naruto’s needs; companionship _or_ sexual.

But she was. And no, it wasn’t as intense. It wasn’t as overwhelming or perfect as it would be with Sasuke. But he knew Naruto wouldn’t struggle to see it as plenty. He’d spent too long of his life not being loved. Facing adoration right now would blind him to love.

And Naruto would have a family. _Hinata_ had a functional uterus, as Sakura had put it.

_Sakura._

She was a clever woman. She wasn’t weak in any way he could think of, besides her devotion to him. And if she _had_ him, where would her strength end, he wondered? She would actually provide a superior gene pool to combine with his own. He had no idea how he’d ever be able to actually consummate their marriage.  But the further he ran away from Naruto, the closer he felt to marrying Sakura.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Author's Note: This is not how I think it should have gone. I think Sasuke made the *wrong* choice (both in the story and in canon, ha). And I definitely don't think Sasuke is particularly self-sacrificing in canon... But maaaaybe Naruto changes him a teeny bit. *shrug* At least he does in this story. :D And at least Sakura gives him a selfish alternative. And since she's a badass, she can see the truth and not be crushed by it. I actually love her. ... As she should be in my mind. ha


	6. Chapter 6

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Author's Note: So that this makes sense, and you know wtf I'm talking about... I kinda took some liberties with their "can sense each other" stuff. They can sense each other’s location, their chakra [canon] and [totally for the sake of this story, not canon]--They can feel each other’s emotions if they’re feeling them strongly enough. It's a bit of a stretch, but they don't explicitly say they CAN'T... soooo... Imma go with it. :D

“So… Now that we both know that we… _know_ … Are we still not gonna talk about it?”

“What’s there to talk about? Isn’t it all pretty obvious? No more hiding anything, that has to be a relief for you, too, isn’t it?”

“I guess…” Naruto scrunched his nose clearly uncomfortable. “At least about the relief. But it’s not _all_ clearly obvious. Not to me, at least.”

Sasuke sighed. “Please tell me you don’t want to talk about feelings at _this_ point. Aren’t we roughly 10 years too late for that?”

“No, asshole. I haven’t had loads of time to process this. I don’t know why you did… _that.”_

Sasuke cocked in eyebrow in doubt. “You don’t know why someone would sleep with someone? Hn, your marriage must have been _incredibly_ difficult for you to understand.”

Naruto flushed. “Fuck off. I know why _people_ do it. That doesn’t mean I know why _you_ did it with _me.”_

Sasuke sighed deeply. “You just need me to say it? Or are you incapable of thinking critically? If other people have sex for basically one reason, why would I be any different?”

“People have sex for loads of reasons!”

“Not really. They have sex because they _want_ to.” He shrugged. “Whether they want to fuck, express their affection, strengthen a bond, or gain something from it, they all do it because they _want_ to.”

“So you _...wanted_ … to have sex with _me?_ Or with the girl I looked like?”

“If you look back on that day, knowing I knew it was you, you’ll recall it differently. I asked you if you were planning on wearing _that_ during. I meant the henge.” He narrowed his eyes. “I named you _Naruko,_ moron. It was not the henge I wanted.”

Naruto was quiet for a moment. “Oh.” A few minutes passed in silence as they walked along the path in the forest and Naruto took his time deliberating. It wasn’t too long before the silence and Naruto’s painfully obvious over-thinking began to annoy Sasuke.

“Just ask whatever it is you actually want to ask and stop tip toeing. Get it out and we can move past this awkwardness.”

“ _Why_ did you want me back then?”

“For the same reason I want you now. I make terrible life decisions.”

“Shut up, it’s not funny, bastard.” And then Naruto stopped suddenly and Sasuke’s shoulders tensed and his face contorted in annoyance.

“ _Yes_ I still want you, why are you acting as if this is a sudden realization?”

“But you let me marry Hinata! You married Sakura! We had kids! We each have families! Why would you let that happen?!”

“I believe we’ve talked about your need to be worshipped in great detail _already,_ Naruto.”

“Well… That’s not good enough!” Naruto was clearly getting more angry the more he evaluated their circumstances. Sasuke was calm but annoyed that Naruto was being so obtuse. “You made me choose a life to lead when I didn’t know all my options!”

“I wasn’t an option.”

“But you just said--”

“I said I wanted you. I implied we could now have more. I never said we could have been together back then.”

“What’s so different now?!”

“You already have the dreams that being with me would have prevented. Holding onto the Hokage title will be easier than achieving it.”

“You think I couldn’t have had you and the hokage title?”

“I think you can _now._ ”

“Why? You think they wouldn’t have accepted a gay Hokage back then?”

“No, they wouldn’t have accepted an insecure Hokage then or now.”

“So I was just too young? Fuck, Sasuke, stop making me guess. Just _say it.”_

Sasuke sighed, annoyed. He had no intention of lying but he knew his answer wasn't going to be well received. “Every time I’m around, you act like an unsure little school boy, posturing and preening; making sure I see you. That’s not what a Hokage should do. Not what he should be.”

“Fuck you, I do not.”

Sasuke rolled his eyes and took to the trees. He didn’t want to have this conversation anymore. Naruto joined him, face in deep scowl but wisely embraced the silence, opting to return to his over-thinking.

* * *

When Sasuke felt his annoyance ebb sufficiently, he decided to approach Naruto as they flew through the trees. He had a few questions, as well.

“How did you not sense me before you saw me?”

“Huh? When?”

Sasuke glared again at the obvious answer not being obvious to his blonde. One more time Naruto made it clear that although it was on _Sasuke's_ mind, it definitely wasn’t at the front of Naruto’s. “You’ve spend a decade repressing it, _Naruko_.”

Naruto pulled back and flushed. “Oh. Heh. Well. Funny you say _repressed._ ” He attempted a casual shrug and failed miserably. “I kinda squished that after our last big fight. Like... I turned it off. I can reach out and feel it, if I ever need to find you. But it’s not there for me all the time. I can’t feel you unless I try.”

That was wholly unexpected and it shook Sasuke more than he cared to admit. And fuck if it didn’t sting. He stopped flying through the trees and after a short moment, Naruto realized and fell back to the same limb. Sasuke took a moment to absorb it and with considerable thought, he decided that was the most painful thing anyone had said to him in probably close to 20 years. He attempted to withhold a reaction, but knew he hadn’t quite succeeded when Naruto looked at him with _pity_. _Mother fuck._ That was exactly the last thing he’d wanted.

Sasuke had spent the last 10 years imagining how this would go. How Naruto would act when he was confronted with Sasuke’s knowledge of their tryst; after recognizing his marriage wasn't what he'd thought. This was decidedly _not_ going how he thought it would. He spent years fucking _living_ for this moment. There were times in those years that were so lonely; far more lonely than he had ever imagined they would be, where he would comfort himself with this end game. Where Naruto would realize that while Hinata was good for achieving his goals, _Sasuke_ was the one who was his life partner.

And none of it was going the way he thought. Or the way he wanted. It was one shocking twist in his chest after another. And he was nowhere close to bending that infuriating blonde over against the nearest tree as he’d had in his softplan of the evening. In fact, the only thing he was close to was fucking _crying._ And he would never do that. He’d cut his heart out himself before he let Naruto see that.

“I should have done the same.” He spat the worse as harshly as he could manage.

“You didn’t? I thought you did, too.” Naruto looked confused.

Sasuke punched him in the face. Naruto took a step back, but didn't leave the limb they were on. He hadn’t really raised a hand to him since their last fight. They had sparred a few times, but never once had they hit each other in anger. Not since the Valley of the End.

Naruto slowly turned his head back to Sasuke eyes and mouth wide. “What. The. Fuck. Was that for, Sasuke?” He touched his lip and saw blood. He showed Sasuke. “I _can_ kick your ass, you know.”

“Yes, I _do_ know that. You are the strongest ninja alive." The concession came easily. He had no interest in a playful banter at the moment. Nor did he want to hurt him with insults.  "But you won’t hit me back today.”

“Oh? You seem more sure of that than I am. Why _wouldn’t_ I kick your ass?”

“Because I just hit you for being a fucking idiot. And eventually you’re going to realize what the fuck _that_ was for.”

“That’s _always_ why you hit me. You _always_ think I’m an idiot.”

“If you’re being idiotic enough for me to consider hitting you, then I do it. Yes.”

“It’s a good thing you haven’t been around much, then, huh?”

“Well, I can’t exactly go around hitting the fucking _Hokage_ can I?”

“You just _did!”_

Sasuke shrugged. “Fucking worth it.”

“Oh, yeah, you’re comfortable in the role of traitor, aren’t you?”

“As comfortable as you are in the role of _idiot!”_

“For fucking once will you just tell me what the hell you’re thinking? I’m so sick of never knowing what the fuck is going on with you!”

“Then turn it back **_on,_** _you bloody idiot.”_

Naruto looked confused. Again. Sasuke had to walk him through absolutely fucking everything. “Stop repressing the goddamn sensing. Open it up and _see_ what I’m feeling you fucking idiot.”

“I don’t have to Sasuke, I already _know_ you’re angry! I don’t have to be a genius like you to figure that out.” Naruto flailed his arms in frustration as he yelled. “It just tells me emotions, it doesn’t tell me _why_ you’re feeling it. And it won’t even tell me if you’re not feeling it strongly enough!”

Sasuke laughed coldly. “You’ll feel this.”

“For shitting sake, Sasuke, why is this so important? Why are you so angry? Why can’t you just _say it?”_

_“Do it, Naruto.”_ Sasuke’s voice was low and deadly.

“Argh! Fine!” Naruto closed his eyes for a moment and Sasuke could almost feel Naruto reach out to him. And he _did_ feel Naruto’s reaction. It was utter shock and devastating confusion.

“That’s not anger.”

“No, it’s not. It is pain. And it is loneliness.” Sasuke tried his best to keep all emotion out of his voice and it came out cold and distant.

“Why?” He whispered hoarsely.

“Because I didn’t even know I _was_ alone until today.” Sasuke shook his head in disbelief. “For 10 years I avoided coming around you because I thought just feeling a moment of _me_ would divert your life. That you’d question what you had to do to be hokage. I know more than anyone how desperately a person can chase a dream.” Sasuke narrowed his eyes and spat words out bitterly. “Clearly, I worried for nothing. Had I known, I could have been around more. I could have been a father to my child. I _thought_ I was saving you from feeling that. I _thought_ I was protecting you and allowing you to do your job. To have your stupid fucking dream.” He looked away. “But you’d shut me out years ago. You didn’t even know.”

Naruto clearly had no idea how to respond to this, but again, Sasuke did nothing by half. He would see this through as well.

“I thought I was only allowing you small tastes; To keep reminding you. A few hours, every few weeks. A close enough proximity that you’d feel more than vague location. A few minutes here and there. I thought eventually you would realize Hinata was _worshipping_ you, not loving you because I've spent a fucking decade slowly building a bond with you. Feeling you, allowing you to feel me.” He shook his head and swallowed hard. “But you didn’t even feel it. I felt _you_. I built a one-sided bond. You felt nothing. You threw away a gift that the Sage of the Six fucking Paths gave you because it tied you to me. You didn’t want to be tied to _me_.”

Naruto looked at him in horrified shock. His eyes frantically searched Sasuke's face for answers he knew would not be there. Sasuke knew that if Naruto was just facing this information for the first time, then he couldn't expect anything but blubbering from him. As much as he hated the idea, he knew Naruto needed a bit of time. And he could certainly use a moment to get his shit together, too.

Sasuke shook his head to clear it. “I’m going into the village. I’ll get us a room. It’ll be under my name.” He looked up and glared at Naruto. “Stay. Give me a chance to get settled first, got it?”

Naruto nodded quickly, eyes still wide. _Good God, he really was a clueless moron._


	7. Chapter 7

Naruto took his time walking around the village before going to the inn. Now that he had reached out to Sasuke; to _feel_ him, he couldn’t let go. And he knew as he was getting closer he was revealing his feelings of despair across their bond as well. Because Sasuke’s pain also stung with worry.

He’d had no idea. Of course he hadn’t. Sasuke had made no effort to actually talk to him. He’d been assuming he’d felt things he’d never even considered possible.

He got the key from the front desk and trudged up the stairs, still having no idea what he was going to say or do when he faced Sasuke momentarily.

When he came in the room, he found Sasuke sitting on the bed. Sasuke sighed, defeated and hopeless. “I fucking hate you, Naruto.” He pulled his hand to his chest and made the sign for a henge jutsu. When the smoke cleared it revealed a brunette woman with large breasts and hips, but narrow waist. She wore a black silk nightgown with thin straps. She looked down in shame. Sasuke voice was quiet when he spoke and it was full of disgust, but it was that of a woman’s. “Is this what you want?”

Naruto broke. His chest felt like a train was on top of it and his eyes scrunched in pain. He stepped forward and pulled Sasuke’s chin up to look for him. “I don’t. Release it. Now.”

The smoke cleared and revealed Sasuke standing there with anger in his eyes and his arms folded tightly across his chest. But through the bond Naruto felt his embarrassment and desperation. This was the most confusing day of his life. “Sasuke… Why would you think… You’d do that for me? On the _chance_ I’d like it?”

Sasuke pressed his lips tightly and clenched his jaw. “I don’t handle rejection well, apparently.”

Naruto shook his head in an attempt to clear it. “No. … Trust me, Sasuke. There’s been no rejection. I just... don’t know what’s happening, ok? I don’t have years of planning any of this, I’ve not thought this was even a possibility, much less an inevitability. I can’t just process it all so quickly.” His jaw clenched in frustration of their situation. “I thought you’d just move on. That it was a one night stand with a stranger for you. And that was all I’d ever have. I haven’t even thought of it in years. I didn’t let myself. It wasn’t even an option to me.” His face scrunched as he choked on an exhale. He grabbed Sasuke’s shirt and buried his face in his chest. “I didn’t know.” Sasuke made no move to touch him, and he understood that. He couldn’t separate his feelings and Sasuke’s anymore, they were too close, but he didn’t sense any anger. Only hurt. Sasuke’s and his own.

“It’s too much, Sasuke. I can’t handle this all at once. It’s too much.” He crumpled to his knees and then further, grasping at Sasuke’s chest and then legs. He couldn’t hold back his pain anymore and he choked on a sob.

Sasuke remained frozen and Naruto allowed himself to cry at Sasuke’s feet for several moments. He felt concern leak through the bond, and a hand twine fingers into his hair. “Fucking hell, Naruto. You never let anything be easy.”

He half laughed, half cried and it came out as a croak. “Sorry.” 

Sasuke sighed and began petting Naruto’s head, pulling him closer. His voice was a whisper when he croaked out, “I know you are, Dobe.”

* * *

(Sasuke POV)

Sasuke woke the next morning with Naruto sitting up on the edge of the bed facing away from him. He blinked hard and sat up onto his elbows before Naruto started speaking. “It hurt. To feel you all the time. I turned it off because feeling you _hurt_. Long before that night. I felt what you felt anyways. I told you I did. But feeling _you_  … It was too hard. It was too close. I couldn’t do it.” Naruto hung his head and whispered. “I’ve never felt that close to anyone. It just… it _hurt.”_

Sasuke sighed deeply and looked at the ceiling. “Yes, Naruto. I’m well aware. It does hurt. It has hurt me every time I’ve been even remotely close to you. And I was _remotely_ close on your fucking wedding night.”

Naruto’s head snapped up to look at him. “What? You mean…? You can feel…?”

“Yes, Naruto. You can feel _any_ intense emotion. Even love. Even lust.” He met Naruto’s wide eyes with a glare. “Which is why I never slept with _my_ wife in the village. Because I didn’t want to subject you to that.”

Naruto looked so incredibly guilty that Sasuke almost felt bad for him. He did know Naruto had never intended to hurt him. He knew that it was just Naruto’s shortsightedness. It was Naruto’s sensitive heart. He couldn’t bear the pain, and if he was being honest, he couldn’t blame him. It had been more than a little tempting. But Sasuke had fewer ties than Naruto. Sasuke held to the ones he had with more intensity. So he felt whatever he could, even if it caused him pain. Sasuke bore it for the both of them. He understood that. So he allowed a small relief in the tension.

“Although that’s probably not the only reason I didn’t sleep with my wife more often.”

Naruto snorted. “You’re gay.”

Sasuke looked at him doubtfully. “I’m no more gay than you, Naruto. I’m just not as … sexually charged as you are.”

Naruto smirked. “I seem to recall you being plenty sexually charged.”

“ _Y_ _ou’re_ different.”

Naruto smiled warmly. It was obvious that he enjoyed the reminder that Sasuke thought differently towards him than he did anyone else. ”You had a decade of holding on to an idea of something better. That life was all I had. All I’d ever have.” He turned to face Sasuke, lifting his knee onto the bed. “I thought that was as good as it got.”

“You were happy, Naruto. There’s no shame in that.”

“But you...”

“Naruto, _we_ would never have been a family. You couldn’t have children with me.” Sasuke shook his head. “I’m never going to replace your wife.”

“Then what exactly did you think was going to happen next?” Naruto’s face cringed in embarrassment. “I just mean... I didn’t mean that to sound like… accusing. But really… what was your idea of a happy ending with this?”

Sasuke smiled a small and hesitant smile. “I thought we’d figure it out together.”

Naruto beamed. “Sasuke, did you spend ten years thinking about this and _not_ have a plan?”

“I _did_ have a plan, idiot. But _you_ fucked it up. As usual.” His words were harsh, but there was no heat in them. He allowed a certain amount of teasing back in his voice.

“I’m sorry.”

Sasuke sighed. “I know.”

“Well what _was_ the plan? Is any of it salvageable?” Naruto smiled hopefully. “So there’s less awkwardness?”

Sasuke smirked. “The plan was to stay locked in the room for a week and then spend the next few years keeping you from groping me in public.” He sat up and laughed lightly when Naruto paled. “Yeah, I think that’s probably not salvageable. At least not for a while.” He got out of bed and went to the bathroom to wash his face.

“Yeah. Um. That’s…"

“No, I know. But silver lining… at least _I’m_ used to feeling you when you feel lust. So I won’t be nearly as unschooled in my reactions as _you_ are going to be.”

“Wait, huh?”

Sasuke’s evil smile spread slowly across his face. “Ah, did you think I didn’t feel the _want_ when you looked at me?” He turned around to lean on the sink and watch Naruto still sitting on the bed.

“What?!” Naruto looked appalled but his cheeks pinked in a much more revealing way. “I did not!”

Sasuke’s smile didn’t fade, but he casually shrugged and folded his arms across his chest. “Whatever you say, Naruto. It was the only part of feeling you for the last 10 years that was pleasant. But sure, take that, too if you must.”

“No! I didn’t - I mean…” Naruto’s face colored a deeper red and Sasuke’s smile remained firmly in place. Naruto growled. “Are you _guilting_ me, now?”

Sasuke shrugged. “Can’t wait to see your reaction when you feel _my_ lust.” He closed the bathroom door, leaving Naruto gaping.

* * *

(Naruto POV)

The next morning Naruto woke calmly, but as he awoke he felt his body being rocked. It took a moment in his haze to realize he was in bed with Sasuke and that Sasuke was spooning him from behind. He looked over his shoulder to notice Sasuke was still asleep but somehow in his sleep had begun slight thrusts into Naruto’s ass, arm casually thrown over his side.

He jumped and pulled away, falling out of bed. “What the fuck?!”

Sasuke sat up and rubbed the sleep from his eyes. He looked over at Naruto like he was a crazy. “What are you doing, idiot?”

“What am I doing? What are _you_ doing?” Naruto sprung up and pointed at him. “You’re the one who woke me up by humping me like a dog in heat!”

Sasuke shrugged, nonchalant. “That explains _this_ ” he muttered as he adjusted his erection.

“What?!” Naruto was completely stunned; he had no words. Sasuke was completely casual about something that was completely new territory for them and he was struggling to make sense of it. He felt no strong emotions from him through their bond, which confused him even more. Surely this was justification for a shock or embarrassment or _something._

Sasuke rolled his eyes. “Stop being a moron.” He grabbed his obi and began to tie it around his waist. “This is a natural part of life, Dobe. Do I need to have the sex talk with you, _now?”_

“No! And that is _not_ natural, Sasuke!”

Sasuke quirked a brow. “Are we going to pretend then that you think that having sex with a male is unnatural?”

“Not with a _male!_ ” Naruto scowled and scrunched his face, appalled that Sasuke would imply he was opposed to homosexuality. “With each other. And not _sex_ ! You humping me awake! That is _not_ natural, it’s completely different than anything that’s ever happened _ever_. This is very new. And you’re acting like it’s just any other morning!”

Sasuke stretched and yawned. “It actually is pretty normal for me.”

“You wake up humping people often?!”

Sasuke leveled him with a piercing gaze. “I wake up hard for you often.”

Naruto could feel his face flush so intensely he thought he may burst a blood vessel somewhere. He shrunk back and muttered hoarsely. “You can’t just say stuff like that, Sasuke.”

“Why not?” He looked at him like he was an idiot. Again. He’d always been partial to giving Naruto that look but he was beginning to think this was just how Sasuke looked at him now.

He whispered as if he were afraid someone would hear. “Because! You’re supposed to hold back some of these thoughts, ya know? Even if we’re … more open now. Its just … it’s a bit much, don’t you think?”

“I have no inhibitions when it comes to _you,_ Naruto.” Sasuke gave a smirk. “I thought that much was clear when you came in last night and I put on a _vagina._ ”

Naruto burst into a sudden laugh he wasn’t expecting. When he caught himself he stopped and met Sasuke’s amused smile with his own.

“I’ve had ten years of biting my tongue on everything that had to do with this. Of not saying anything. Of holding it all back. And I don’t _want to_ anymore.”

“I’ve had ten years of holding it all back, too. I just… I guess it’s different when you don’t … know.” Naruto plugged in the electric kettle to make them tea.

“And when you think you know but you don’t.”

“I’m sorry, Sasuke.” Naruto turned around and shrugged. “I really didn’t think you’d be bothered at all. I just assumed you shut it out, too. You never seem extra … affected by me.”

“Just because I don’t squeal and whine about feelings doesn’t mean I don’t have them, Dobe.” Sasuke came over to the counter where Naruto was making tea and set out two cups then put the tea leaves in the diffuser.

“I know that. I just… I didn’t think you had them... for _me.”_ Naruto cleared his throat. Even thinking these things was still awkward. Saying them out loud was beyond uncomfortable.

“Because you’re a moron and you shut me out. And now you’re apologizing.”

“I am. I know I can’t make up for it or anything -”

“Don’t turn it off again, Naruto. Ok?” Sasuke didn’t look at him. His voice broke with emotion and he closed his eyes. Naruto felt like he was dying inside.

He hated himself for hurting Sasuke and the promise was given without a second thought. “Yeah, ok.”

“Ever?”

“Never. I promise.”

Sasuke nodded as if he’d just received the most important vow he’d ever had. It made Naruto ache for the pain he’d caused him and he knew this was one more instance where he fully committed to something. He’d never go back on his word. He poured the hot water over the tea leaves and stirred a bit of sugar into the cup.

“I can dial it back a bit. I don’t want you to be overwhelmed.” Sasuke took the pot and made his own tea.

Naruto smiled brightly and Sasuke immediately shot him a glare. “Ah, you don’t like accommodating another person, do you?”

“I’m not accustomed to it, no.”

Naruto could feel his whole being swell with pride and said in a sing-song voice, “You want to make me _happy.”_

“Don’t get used to it.”

“No, I think I will. I may take advantage of this. See how much I can get out of you.” Naruto’s eyes twinkled with mischief as he took a sip of his tea.

“You’d get a lot more if you put out.”

Naruto swallowed his tea wrong and spent a solid 2 minutes trying to regain his composure. All the while, Sasuke looked on, amused.

“It’s not that I want to make you _happy._ ” Sasuke traced the rim of his cup, considering. “I just don’t want to misjudge and confuse what you wouldn’t mind with what you can’t yet handle.”

“Ahhh I see. And when was the last time you even gave a shit what someone thought of you?”

“Approximately 45 minutes before I killed my brother.”

Naruto smiled warmly. He knew it wasn’t a pleasant memory, but he also knew being compared to Itachi in _any_ way was a compliment from Sasuke. “Well, if it helps, I think I like you even more than he did.”

Sasuke rolled his eyes in doubt but didn’t say anything. They each leaned against the double sink to their room and finished their tea in quiet contemplation - something that wasn’t easy for Naruto. But he didn’t want to risk saying the wrong thing. And he couldn’t think of anything that was for sure the _right thing._

When they finished, Sasuke took Naruto’s cup from him and placed it beside his on the counter. “Let’s get going, yeah?”

“Yeah.” Naruto had no idea what he was going to say next time this came up. It seemed like Sasuke was wanting more and much faster than Naruto was comfortable. He just prayed the whole thing would resolve in a way that made sense and hurt as few people as possible.


	8. Chapter 8

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I do a lot more POV switching than i thought so I just started labeling them.

(Sasuke POV)

Sasuke wasn’t exactly sure how to continue their conversation but he knew they were on borrowed time. They were just a couple hours from their destination. The mission couldn’t last that long and he was actually _further_ from knowing what was going to happen next than before the mission started. “So when we get back -”

“Can we just talk about the fucking mission, please?” Naruto cut Sasuke off and then looked at him apologetically.

Sasuke shrugged, unfazed. “Be my guest.”

“So Orochimaru isn’t the only fucker who likes to experiment. We saw how these twisted bastards can mess with your precious Sharingan and make clones with Zetzu flesh… _stuff_.”

“Yes. For those of us who’ve actually been outside of the village, this isn’t exactly a news flash, move on.”

Naruto glared at him. “Fuck off. So apparently my arm and Yamato Sensei aren’t the only fun things they can do with Lord First. And when _you_ brought him back, you reminded everyone that his flesh is right there. So apparently someone grabbed some up off the battleground or some shit, because there’s now a fucking wood gang that’s terrorizing Yumegakure. They asked us to help out… here we are.”

“First of all, dumbass, _I_  didn’t bring him back. I brought Orochimaru back-”

“Oh yeah, thanks for _that.”_

“-And _he_ brought back your _dad_. On your birthday. You’re welcome.”

Sasuke felt a strong wave of gratitude and warmth when he mentioned Naruto’s dad and he smiled smugly.

“Yeah, that’s what I thought. Has anyone _ever_ given you a better birthday present? No. So again. _You’re welcome.”_ He rolled his shoulders and cracked his neck. “And I did know all that. I was hoping for some kind of knowledge I didn’t already have. Who’s the leader? How does he sustain his wood clones? Hashirama needed to summon his. How many does he have?”

“His name is Mokuzai. I don’t know what kind of clones they are, but as far as intell can tell me they don’t need summoned, they just… are. We don’t know exact numbers. Just … a lot.”

“Great. So we’ll go in knowing half the story. That sounds about on par with how you operate.”

“Hey!”

“Let’s just go. It probably won’t be hard to find an army of wood people.”

“Yeah, ok.”

* * *

(Naruto POV)

As it turns out, Sasuke was right. The had only to ask a few people in the village before they saw a shadow of a person try to sneak out of the area in a panic. Sasuke leveled Naruto with a bored and unimpressed stare as they made note of how _not_ subtle the person was as he fled. The followed behind, with _actual_ stealth and he led them directly to a camp no more than a mile out of the center of town.

“‘A lot’ may have been underselling, Naruto.” They remained hidden behind the branches of a tree overlooking the camp. There were 4 long bunk houses and in the middle of them were hundreds of clone troops training in the courtyard. The furthest building butted up against a mountain, so approaching it from behind wasn’t going to be an option.

“An army seems fair, though.”

“Seriously, Dobe, who gives you your intel?”

“We didn’t really have much to go on, if I’m being honest.”

Sasuke sighed. “You just wanted out of Konoha. You could have just said that, you know.” He glared. “Now we have to deal with this shit on our own.”

Naruto smiled in challenge. “You not up for it? Don’t worry, Sasuke, I’ll protect you.”

“I know we _can_ do it, but it’s going to be annoying.” He looked back at the army and activated his Sharingan. “They’re all clones. They’re all wood. They don’t have chakra, though. I don’t think the original has enough to give them any. They’re not going to pose any real threat to us, but they won’t die as quickly as normal clones.”

“Where’s the original?”

“He’s in the furthest building. To get there, we’ll have to go through them all.”

“Well, like you said, they won’t pose a threat. Let’s just get it over with.” Naruto made to jump down but Sasuke grabbed his arm.

“No _individual_ clone poses a threat. But if you take on 400 of anything, it poses danger, moron.” He let his Sharingan fade momentarily to level a look at Naruto. “Do you have a plan?”

“Yup!” Naruto smiled brightly and moved his hands to create hundreds of his own clones. They surround them in the trees, and Naruto calls over his shoulder as he jumps from the trees and charges the army. “Mine are better than his!”

The Naruto clones descended upon the wood clones and it took approximately 4 seconds for Naruto to realize it was a mistake. His clones were destroyed and the wood ones were decidedly _not._ In the next moment, Sasuke appeared beside him.

“Moron, they’re _wood_. Wood is harder than flesh. Particularly _clone_ flesh.”

Naruto watches as the wood clones go through his clones without too much struggle. He destroyed a few, but Sasuke had destroyed more. And his clones had destroyed _none_. “I don’t suppose you have a better idea, do you?!” He called over as he ran through the sides of a clone with his kunai.

“Of course I do, idiot.” Sasuke’s katana sliced through the clones quickly and efficiently and Naruto appreciated that skill while it was on his side. “Your clones have _chakra._ ”

“Huh?”

“Rasengan, you moron!”

“Oh! Yeah!”

Each of Naruto’s clones heard Sasuke and just like that, they all began rasengan attacks that eliminated a clone for each attack. Even with his clones, though, they were vastly outnumbered, so Naruto figured it was still a battle worth fighting.

“Your clones are doing better than you are, now, dobe!” Sasuke taunted him and, as Naruto was sure was the intended effect, it made him want to show off. He stopped attacking momentarily and allowed them to swarm him, just blocking but not countering. When he had probably 20 clones on him, he created a massive Rasengan that immediately dispelled the clones in one fell swoop. He wanted to brag and say “Suck on that, asshole” but the bond felt… different. He was overwhelmed with confusion. He felt his stomach flip flop and his cock twitch. A wave of lust rushed over him and Naruto, now able to feel Sasuke’s feelings, snapped his head away from his enemy to look over at Sasuke.

“Really, bastard? _Now_?”

Sasuke smirked and shrugged his shoulder. Sasuke continued to fight and left Naruto staring at him, mouth agape. Until a wood clone punched him square in the jaw and sent him flying. He sat up and growled.

“Are you _distracted_ Naruto?” Sasuke’s tone was teasing and flirtatious and Naruto found himself absolutely loving it. He loved fighting _with_ Sasuke. Alongside him. Even if they were still competing. He’d have it no other way, actually. Everything with Sasuke was a competition. He always wanted to beat him; one up him; show off for him. He always would.

And in that moment, he realized Sasuke was probably right. He never would have been able to put the village first; to make decisions without worrying about what Sasuke would be impressed by, or what he’d have wanted. And then he was kicked in the face.

“Naruto! Fuck! Get your shit together. I promise we’ll have plenty of time to deal this later, but you can’t get yourself _killed_ in the meantime!”

Naruto felt his cheeks heat up. _And how exactly would they deal with it later?_

Sasuke must have felt his embarrassment because he looked over at him and laughed. He actually _laughed._ And then Sasuke appeared directly in front of him, blocking another hit and slashing through a wood clone. He shook his head and looked over at him, smirking again.

“Are you hurt, scaredy cat?”

Naruto felt warmth over power the lust in the bond and he smiled broadly. He pushed Sasuke hard and Sasuke recovered with a smile, attacking as he went. “Not a bit, bastard.”

Naruto was convinced the battle had turned their way and would soon be over. But when he heard commotion from the main house that had the original, he gazed over to have his mind changed.

The clones piled out of the building like a clown car; he had no idea how that many had even fit inside. His clones had lost some of their momentum and the wood clones were overpowering them with numbers. Naruto began to think he needed to take it a bit more seriously and attempted to slide into his chakra mode. But nothing happened. He pulled toward Kurama and got nowhere.

_Hey! Wake up, old fox! We have a battle here._

He felt Kurama stir and then grumble.

**_No. I’m not interested in a lust-filled battle. Seal the deal and I’ll come around._ **

_What are you talking about?!_

**_You feel him too strongly. You haven’t been able to adjust and resist the feelings overtaking you because you’ve repressed it for far too long. I did tell you this would happen._ **

_I don’t know what you’re talking about but there are more important things happening now!_

_**If** **you can feel it, Naruto, so can I. I’m not going to emerge from sleep to be seduced by a human. Figure it out and then I’ll come around.** _

_You’ll let me die because you can’t handle a few dirty thoughts? What a prude you are!_

**_Don't be dramatic. You don’t need me for this, kit. I’m going back to sleep. Wake me when the Uchiha can think clearly._ **

Naruto grumbled, anger taking him over and making his blasts more powerful. But still not enough to make any real headway. The original Mokuzai emerged from the house finally, but Naruto was just too busy with the clones to get to him.

“There’s a tailed beast within you, idiot! Stop fucking around!” Sasuke yelled over at him as he struggled to fight off the swarm of minions that encircled him.

“Kurama is having a tantrum. It’s just us.” Naruto called over to Sasuke as he summoned more clones, each barely living long enough to provide a moment for him to plan an attack that could go through to the master. There was a small window between his minions that Naruto thought he may be able to get a Rasengan through but he felt his arms pinned and was unable to get control back.

And then he felt another strong feeling from Sasuke: Worry. Which didn’t make sense to Naruto. Sasuke knew he couldn’t be killed by something like this. The wood clones weren’t even chakra-filled. The entire battle was, as Sasuke said it would be, just _annoying._ But Sasuke was nonetheless worried. About him. And it was strong enough to bleed over their bond. It was too strong to ignore. It was overwhelming and enough that it nearly brought him to his knees - even mid battle. And then somehow, it fed him. It _gave_ him strength. He felt it fuel his very muscles and he threw the clones off of him without a care; each disappearing in a puff as Naruto sent a Rasenshuriken into the crowd. He dispels a few of his own clones, as well, but it takes out dozens of wood clones.

Because that’s it. That was the very last string of reservation dissolved. Because the epiphany that settled reached his very soul. He knew something he'd never remotely been sure of, before. Sasuke would forever be the _one_ who loved him. Whom he loved. It had always been that way and he suddenly knew in his bones it always would be.

* * *

(Sasuke POV)

Sasuke felt a sudden rush of love through the bond. Love and acceptance. It was the first time he’d felt the hint of something that powerful from Naruto and the first time those kinds of feelings had been directed at him. And now he felt them as a _fact_ , not just a possibility. He immediately activated a Susano’o and tossed his giant chakra katana to pin Mokuzai to the wall of the dormitory before nailing him with a genjutsu. The clones all disappeared immediately.

Sasuke turned to Naruto, hesitantly approaching him with caution and more hope than he’d never felt.

“What the fuck? Why didn’t you do that before?” Naruto was more irritated than stunned, but Sasuke gave no care. It was the first time he’d felt a romantic love from him and it _felt_ like it was enough that even Naruto would have to acknowledge it.

“I enjoy fighting by your side. We don’t do it enough.” He wouldn’t have normally conceded this fact, but the love he felt from Naruto that grew from these words meant he couldn’t help but be glad he had. Nor could he fight the smile that slowly spread across his face as he approached him.

Naruto returned the smile but in an entirely sarcastic way. “You can feel that, can’t you?” Sasuke nodded at him, knowing just what he meant by'that.' “Is that why you ended it?” He nodded again. “You want to talk about this _now?”_

Sasuke shook his head. He had slowed his walking to him but hadn’t stopped. When Naruto was within arms reach, he stretched his arm and pulled him by the neck to him. With their faces six inches or less apart, Sasuke could search Naruto’s eyes and he found no objection. He allowed his eyes to smile while he exhaled sharply. Naruto’s eyes were amused but the bond was on _fire._

When he pulled Naruto closer so their lips touched, there was no hesitation. It wasn’t a passionate kiss, but it was full of meaning that Sasuke had been searching for, for years. It wasn’t long before he pulled back and confirmed with Naruto’s eyes that this was real. It was happening and he saw no hesitation and no regret.

Sasuke couldn’t tell if he was feeling his own feelings or Naruto’s but he knew they were finally, _finally_ feeling the same thing.


	9. Chapter 9

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Author’s note: I wrote this without even questioning myself and now as I edit it to post the chapter I’m realizing I don’t really know wth the Sharingan’s limits are. So. Let’s just do the pretend with me game, k? Hehe It’s a small part in the first paragraph but still.  
> Lemon warning. Lemon, lemon, lemon! (Or really two lemons, but whatever.)

(Sasuke POV)

Sasuke used his Sharingan to isolate the Hashirama cells in Mokuzai on the spot and stripped him of that DNA. It was actually relatively simple, Sasuke thought. Then he performed a jutsu that limited Mokuzai's access to his own chakra, stunting his ability to perform any jutsu. Slightly less simple but still not a daunting undertaking. Without access to his research or his chakra, he no longer required their involvement. They took him back to the village and surrendered him to the authorities for trial and prosecution. Mission done. They began their trek home.

That night, they stayed in the same inn they had on the way to the village. But they were feeling their age a bit more than they were in the habit of after a mission that involved physical ninjutsu. In fact, they were so exhausted that when they arrived to the inn late that night, they didn’t even talk. They wordlessly fell into bed with their clothes still on and Sasuke felt Naruto slide closer to him in the dark. He smiled warmly and tossed an arm around him, allowing his eyes to close and his body to drift. The last thing he remembered before falling asleep was Naruto’s hand wrapping around his forearm, holding him in place.

When Sasuke awoke the next morning it was to his arm being pulled on. When he opened his eyes he noticed Naruto’s were still closed. And that his arm was underneath Naruto. In fact, sleeping Naruto had pulled Sasuke half on top of his back and was sleeping on his own front. A front that Sasuke’s hand was pinned under. A hand that Naruto had a firm grip on, even in sleep. And a grip that was holding Sasuke in place as Naruto thrust his erection into Sasuke’s hand and into the bed.

Sasuke smirked and leaned forward to nip at the back of Naruto’s neck whispering in the early morning light. “Ah, not so unnatural for you now, is it?”

“Hmm?” Naruto raised his head sleepy and opened his eyes. He looked at Sasuke, confused to find him there and Sasuke gave a squeeze to Naruto’s length that drew his sleepy attention to his shallow thrusts.”Oh, fuck, I’m sorry!” Naruto jerked to pull away, but Sasuke’s grip tightened and he growled, leaning further onto his back and pushing Naruto back down into the bed.

“You’d better not be.” He stroked slowly and licked the back of Naruto’s neck.

“Oh fuck, Sasuke.” 

“If you ask nicely.” Sasuke felt Naruto’s cock twitch in response to his voice and he smirked.

Naruto buried his head into the pillow and moaned. Sasuke could feel the lust fire over the bond and it emboldened his strokes and licks. “Let’s not rush home, yeah?” He licked along the edge of Naruto’s ear before biting down hard. “In fact, let’s stay here tonight, too.”

Naruto just groaned and nodded into his pillow; Sasuke stroking harder, Naruto’s thrusts more frantic.

“Hmm, I think it’s been too long since you’ve taken care of this, hasn’t it, Naruto?” More nodding, more moaning into the pillow. Sasuke felt Naruto’s body spasm and he knew Naruto was close already. He stopped his strokes momentarily and forced his hand down into Naruto’s pants, feeling his hard flesh for the first time. “Fuck, Naruto.” He grabbed his cock as leverage and turned him onto his side facing away from Sasuke and used his nose to nudge Naruto’s head back and allow him access to Naruto’s throat. He licked and sucked and bit and Naruto reached behind him with both hands; one fisting into Sasuke’s hair and the other grabbing his thigh. It wasn’t long at all before Naruto’s whimpers became more urgent and Sasuke guided his orgasm onto the bed and kept Naruto’s clothes free from his spend. He gave a last, light squeeze to Naruto’s softening cock and smiled as Naruto twitched violently.

Sasuke was pleased to find love bites all over Naruto’s neck and that his face was one of complete bliss. He rolled him over to his back so he could have a better look at him in his post orgasm glow.

“What about you?” Naruto's eyes were half lidded and his voice soft.

“What _about_ me?” Judging by how Naruto had basically hid his face in the pillow for a solid half of their morning tryst, Sasuke was guessing Naruto taking care of  _him_ would be pushing it a bit too far for him. Which was to be expected, all things considered. Sasuke was disappointed they had to progress so much more slowly than he'd originally planned. But still. Progress was progress. And he wouldn't risk pushing too far and losing what he had.

“Well, you’re still… “ Naruto nodded at Sasuke’s tented pants.

“Oh my God, I _do_ need to have the sex talk with you, don’t I?” Sasuke tried to reign in his heartbeat and opted to tease.

“Shut up, bastard! I’ve probably had plenty more sex than you have!”

Sasuke sighed and rolled his eyes. That did a fair job of calming him. “Undoubtedly. I had sex with reproduction in mind. You had it for _fun._ ”

Sasuke knew that Naruto could feel the twinge of pain in the bond because it was answered with a strong wave of guilt from the blonde. He scrunched his face and Sasuke knew he was about to confess something he didn’t want to. “Well, excluding _this,_ the most fun sex I’ve ever had was when I was a fucking _girl._ ” He muttered bitterly. “Maybe we _will_ need to have a conversation about ‘who does what’ before we actually do anything.”

Sasuke tried his hardest not to react to that, but Naruto acknowledging how much he wanted Sasuke in even such a way was too much to continue without him losing his battle of restraint. He got up and wiped his hand on a nearby towel before tossing it to Naruto for him to clean himself up. “Hn. For now, I’m just going to go to the shower. I don’t think you can handle any more without overloading just yet.” And with that, he entered the bathroom, closed the door and leaned behind it. And tried to figure out how the hell he was going to keep himself from going back out there.

* * *

(Naruto POV)

Naruto was tired enough from both just waking up and his orgasm that he just stared after Sasuke for a moment before something clicked in his brain. He was still overwhelmed feeling Sasuke’s lust from the bond and he narrowed his eyes in annoyance. He did _not_ need to be protected from this shit. He’d made up his mind and Sasuke knew him well enough to know that meant he was going to full-speed ahead this.

He wiped himself quickly and took three long strides to the bathroom door before opening it forcefully.

And knocked Sasuke on his ass in front of him.

“What the fuck, Naruto?!” Sasuke growled at him from the ground before sitting up and tossing the nearby complimentary soap at him.

“Shit! Shit, I’m sorry! Sorry.” He looked at him on the floor and looked around in confusion. “What are you doing loitering in front of the door?!”

“I was _trying_ to calm myself down, _Naruto.”_ Sasuke glared at him and spoke his name in a veiled threat. Naruto was confident it had the opposite reaction as Sasuke had intended. The words went straight to his cock and he found himself smirking in response.

“ _W_ _hy?”_

Sasuke looked as if he was being tricked. He looked behind Naruto and then around the room briefly as if he expected someone to jump out. “... Because… I already told you why.”

“But…  I didn’t say that was ok.”

“Um. Okay…? I need your permission to jack off, now?”

“Yes!”

Sasuke narrowed his eyes but amusement spread across his face.

“Well, I mean… yes? OK, _no_. It’s still your body and all but just… like… this feels like it involves me.” Naruto rubbed the back of his head in embarrassment. “So… shouldn’t it _involve_ me?”

Sasuke stood up slowly, watching Naruto as he stood. “Do you _want_ it to involve you, Naruto?”

Naruto swallowed hard and nodded. And maybe his nod was a bit too enthusiastic, because Sasuke’s predatory leer became more of an amused stare as he turned and took off his shirt, tossing it on the ground. He didn’t say a word as he turned the shower on to warm up and Naruto was wondering what this was going to turn into if he just stood there frozen while Sasuke took his shower. In fact, that thought made his stomach flip-flop in consideration. That may very well be a spectacular plan. He would get to see Sasuke naked, again. That alone held immense appeal, but Sasuke had mentioned masturbating, right? Would he get to watch that, too? The thought had him licking his lips and his mouth going dry.

He could tell Sasuke was making a point of not looking at him, and he couldn’t figure out why. Sasuke was going about his business in shower prep, lying a big white towel next to the sink, hanging the robe onto the closest hook, grabbing his toiletries from his bag and putting them inside the shower door. If one of those toiletries hadn’t been lube, Naruto wouldn’t have thought a thing of it.

And then Sasuke turned to him. He still said nothing, but held his stare when he undid his pants and allowed them to fall to the floor before pushing his underwear down, as well. He took the two steps backwards into the shower, eyes never leaving Naruto. And Naruto was positive he’d never seen anything as heart-stopping in his entire life. He allowed his gaze to roam Sasuke’s body as he ran his hand through his hair, soaking it with the falling water. He watched as his neck turned and the tendons stretched taut from side to side wetting his entire body. And he followed the water as it rolled down his biceps, and fell from the elbow of one arm and stump of his other. He watched as Sasuke stepped slightly further back and the water ran down his porcelain chest and ran along the hard edges of his stomach muscles. He bit his lip and his nostrils flared as he watched the water settled into the hair surrounding the base of Sasuke’s cock before falling from his balls, which were tight against his body. One look at Sasuke’s erection told him he was so turned on it bordered on pain. His cock was so red it was almost purple and his balls were periodically jerking up as his stomach muscles involuntarily clenched.

Sasuke took another step back and leaned against the wall of the shower and out of the stream of steaming water. When Naruto’s eyes rose to meet his, there were still no words to be said. He took a step forward without realizing he had until Sasuke smirked at him. Eyes glued to Naruto, he reached to the shelf on the door where he’d deposited his toiletries and grabbed the lube. Naruto’s body had a will of its own - or Sasuke’s will compelled him, he wasn’t sure which. He stepped forward again and again until he was at the edge of the shower, door still open.

Sasuke spread lube on his fingers and lifted his foot to rest on the seat along the wall of the shower, spreading himself. He arched his back slightly as he reached behind him and inserted a finger slowly into himself. His breathing was as erratic as Naruto’s and Naruto’s blood was so hot he thought he may explode. Still no speaking, so he kept himself frozen in place..

But when Sasuke plunged a second finger in and whimpered out, “Naruto” his will broke. He lunged forward, clothes still on and wrapped his hands in Sasuke’s hair, kissing him fiercely. He pushed Sasuke hard against the wall, so that he had to pull his hand back to catch himself.

Sasuke chuckled darkly and shook his head. “That took longer than I thought.”

“Tease.” Naruto could hear the gravel in his voice and knew he would reveal exactly how out of his mind with lust he was every time he spoke. But Sasuke didn’t seem to mind. In fact, quite the opposite as he pushed him back and returned to fingering himself. This time kissing Naruto as he did. No more was he quiet as he thrust his erection into Naruto’s clothed one and pushed back into his fingers.

Sasuke shook his head. “I’m not a tease, idiot. I’m preparing for _you.”_

Naruto almost fell to his knees with that thought and barely caught himself at Sasuke’s chest. “Fuck, Sas, you mean now? You sure?”

* * *

(Sasuke’s POV)

“Well, I fucked you last time.” Sasuke bit down on Naruto’s bottom lip. “Seems only fair.”

Naruto’s aggression increased as he sucked Sasuke’s lip into his mouth hard. “Nuh-uh. I won’t do it if it’s just because it’s my turn.”

Sasuke looked at him skeptical. “I think you probably _will_.”

“Then you’re not paying attention. I would never do something I didn’t think you wanted.” Naruto’s tone was teasing and dark and it wasn’t long before Sasuke knew he wanted an admission.

Sasuke glared at him and nodded his head up once, quickly, gesturing to his clothes. “Strip. Now.”

Naruto smirked and took a step back out of the shower. Sasuke’s cock twitched when Naruto took off his shirt and he knew Naruto saw it. If Sasuke felt a taint of smugness from Naruto over the bond, it was lost immediately because he was constantly overwhelmed by the lust. _Fucking hell, Naruto had never been felt this so strongly._ Not with Hinata on their wedding night, not when he was Naruko. Not even when he’d jerked him off just a few minutes ago. And he hadn’t even touched his cock yet. Sasuke continued his thrusts on to his fingers and when Naruto finally dropped his pants and underwear, Sasuke added a third finger.

Naruto didn’t miss it, either. He returned to the shower and placed a hand on the wall on either side of Sasuke’s head. His voice was low and menacing and fucking _amazing._ “What are you prepping yourself for, Sasuke?”

“You.” He plunged deep inside and found his spot immediately and his head fell back, eyes wide as he groaned.

Naruto growled and his nostrils flared. “Fuck. _Sasuke._ ” He lowered his head and squeezed his eyes tight. “Why would I fuck you?”

Sasuke spoke desperately. “Because you want it. I can _feel_ you.” He spoke in almost a whine.

“ _Yes, I fucking do_.” He breathed to calm himself and pulled Sasuke’s lubed hand gently away from his ass and closed it over his cock, stroking himself with Sasuke’s hand. “But I would never do anything you don’t want, remember?”

“I want it.” The concession came fast and without hesitation because Sasuke was too far gone to care. “I fucking need it, Naruto. Don’t tease _me._ ”

Naruto sprang, pulling Sasuke’s legs around his waist and Sasuke immediately locked his ankles behind him. Naruto attacked his mouth and grabbed a handful of an ass cheek in each hand. Sasuke thrust into Naruto’s stomach shallowly before repositioning himself so Naruto’s cock was under him and positioned to thrust inside.

“Fuck, wait, wait.” Naruto pulled back a few inches to look into Sasuke’s eyes. “Seriously, though? You want _this_ ? It doesn’t have to be _me_ doing the fucking.”

Sasuke smiled a nervous smile and rolled his eyes. “We’re both going to, idiot.” Sasuke reached behind him to aim Naruto just so. “I’ve wanted _this_ for years, Naruto. Don’t be such a scaredy cat.”

At that, Naruto plunged deeply into Sasuke all the way to the hilt and Sasuke was incredibly grateful he’d taken such time preparing himself. Naruto froze and grunted out a slew of profanities as he struggled to give Sasuke time to adjust. The bond was flooded with worry and concern and _love._ Most of all love. It tightened Sasuke’s chest and he touched Naruto’s cheek and smiled softly at him before kissing him with all the feeling he could.  He used his thighs to lift himself and rock onto Naruto and with just a few thrusts Naruto was whimpering almost pitifully. Their lips were locked, but they weren’t so much kissing as holding onto each other with their mouths, too.

Their arms were wrapped tightly around each other, clinging desperately to each other as Sasuke rocked. Before long, Naruto began thrusting to meet Sasuke’s rocking and their grasping became more comfortable. Sasuke leaned back against the wall and held onto the metal fixture to position Naruto’s thrusts just right. Naruto held onto his hips as he thrust into him and his eyes widened as he watched Sasuke’s face. Sasuke knew he was close because the second Naruto hit his prostate, he couldn’t see anything but white.

“Fuck, shit, Naruto. I’m close, don’t stop.”

Naruto’s pace increased and so did the pressure of his fingertips digging into Sasuke’s hips. “I’ll _never_ .” Naruto’s voice sounded appalled at the idea. “This is… Fuck, Sasuke, you’re _amazing_.” His voice broke with emotion and tension and it was the last straw for Sasuke before he came, shooting across his stomach. Naruto came directly behind him, filling his ass before he even had a moment to clear his vision.

Naruto leaned into him against the wall and after a few breathless moments of catching their breaths, he pulled slowly out and shivered against Sasuke. He sat Sasuke’s legs down and helped him while he regained his balance, which took a bit longer than he’d anticipated.

Naruto eased him into the water and when Sasuke felt the warm water pour over him, he sighed contently and closed his eyes. He felt Naruto’s strong hands ball in his hair and when he slowly opened his eyes, he realized Naruto was washing his hair.

“I’ve always wanted to do this.” Naruto’s voice was soft. Almost reverent. And again the bond was flooded with love. It was so intense, he felt overwhelmed and he had no idea how to handle it. His eyes swelled with tears that he wasn’t sure were his own and when his eyes met Naruto’s he saw Naruto’s lips pressed tightly together.

“Ya know I didn’t even think you even really _liked_ me.” He let out a brief, nervous and emotion-packed laugh. “I thought I was just the only one you tolerated.”

Sasuke reached forward and ran his fingers through Naruto’s hair and pulled hard. “You should have never turned it off, moron.”

Naruto’s chin shook and his eyes, too, were filled with unspilled tears. He shook his head and scrunched his face in pain and embarrassment and then nodded. The wide range of emotions in that moment were hard to identify, but Sasuke knew that if one was overpowering the others, it was the one that needed addressed.

“I am going to struggle with this for a while, I think.” Naruto sighed deeply and returned to his task, rinsing Sasuke’s hair and started washing his chest and arms.

“You seemed to do ok.” Sasuke smirked.

“Not with the _sex,_ bastard!” Naruto swatted his but and Sasuke growled at him. He smiled up at him as he finished cleaning Sasuke and began washing his own body. “I mean the idea that you kinda like me.”

Sasuke scoffed and shook his head. “I do _not_ like you.”

“Yes you do! I can feel it! You _do!_ ” Naruto looked genuinely hurt as he insisted he knew better.

“I _love_ you, moron.”

Naruto took half a step back and his eyes widened and his mouth fell ajar slightly. “Wha… Yeah… But... “ He laughed and sighed in relief at the same time, shaking his head marginally. “I didn’t think you’d ever say _that_.”

“I shouldn’t have to, you can feel it.” Sasuke did his best to remain composed, even though he knew the bond flooded with his feelings, still. “You were misidentifying it.”

Naruto laughed again and pulled Sasuke close, burying his face into the crook of his neck. “Ah. You said it just to correct me. Yeah, that makes more sense.”

“Hn.” Sasuke rubbed his nose into Naruto’s hair before turning the water off. “Naruto?”

He pulled back to look at his face. “Hmm?”

“I love you.” Sasuke still kept his face blank, and Naruto still reacted with surprise. “That was just because I think I like saying it.”

Naruto beamed at him and pulled him into hard but quick kiss. “I like hearing it.”

“Good.”

“Hey Sasuke?”

“Hn?”

“I love you, too.”

“I know, moron. I can feel it.”

Naruto’s laughter was contagious and Sasuke was glad he had turned his back on the blonde while he exited the shower to get dressed.

* * *

(Naruto POV)

After breakfast, they found themselves relaxed and half catnapping on the couch, half reading through the research they’d gotten from Mokuzai. Naruto was sitting on the bed with Sasuke in between his legs, reclined against his chest as he reclined against the headboard. They weren’t speaking much and Naruto found such a remarkable peace in even this small amount of work, shared with his best friend.

“You know you can’t scare me off, right?”

He could feel rather than see Sasuke rolled his eyes at him. “This isn’t a challenge, moron. If this is going to work, it can’t be a game of chicken to see who shies away first.”

“It isn’t. It’s the opposite. See? I knew you weren’t getting it.” He nipped at Sasuke’s ear just hard enough to make him jerk away slightly and growl at him. “It doesn’t matter if you, or _I_ go too far for the other, I mean. Even if we scare the other. This is it. You and me. We’ll find a common ground somehow.”

“And if you run?”

“You’re the one more likely to _run,_ Bastard.”

Sasuke scoffed. “Ok, if _I_ run?”

Naruto shrugged and rubbed his nose deep into Sasuke’s hair. “You’ll come back. I’ll come back. Or I'll chase you. You can chase me for once. The nice part about living an entire life just barely the wrong side of happy is that we know now _this_ is the best it gets.”

“So what’s the plan when we get back, then?”

“I suppose I have to stop sleeping with my wife, right?” Naruto said it with a teasing tone but he knew right away Sasuke did not appreciate it. He went instantly still and Naruto could see his jaw clench and nostrils wide, but the more obvious response was that Sasuke lightly shocked Naruto’s arm with a small chidori.

“Ow! Hey!” Naruto laughed good naturedly and hugged Sasuke to him tightly, kissing his neck. “You know the chidori doesn’t scare me anymore.”

“Hn. Maybe it wasn’t supposed to scare you. _Maybe_ it was supposed to remind you of _us._ ”

Naruto beamed. “I don’t need a reminder, I feel you every waking moment of every single day, Sasuke.”

“Good luck fucking your wife with me inside your head, then.”

“Ah, Sasuke I didn’t take you for a cock block!”

Sasuke turned to face him, pulling out of his arms. “It is _not_ funny, Naruto.”

“It’s _kind_ of funny.”

“You will _not_ sleep with Hinata again.”

Naruto quirked a brow in incredulity.

“I’m serious, Naruto.” Sasuke face was hard and cold. “I may not be able to beat _you_ but I can beat _her._ ”

Naruto’s eye widened as he looked at Sasuke in horror. “You’d _kill_ Hinata if I slept with her?”

“I will kill anyone who touches you, Naruto.”

Naruto shook his head, confused. “I … cannot decide if that’s more fucked up or fucking hot.”

“It is the truth all the same. You want me to stop worrying about scaring you away? Fine. See it all.”

“Sasuke, I don’t _want_ anyone but you to touch me, you stupid bastard. You don’t need to get homicidal.”

Naruto felt Sasuke relax through the bond and saw him visibly sag in relief. “Good.” He turned back around to lean against Naruto’s chest. “I couldn’t bear it again. I don’t know how I did to begin with.”

“You won’t have to.” Naruto felt himself relax some, finally as well. “Don’t kill my wife, ok?”

“Don’t fuck her.”

“Promise.”

“Then I promise, too.”

“Shit, Sasuke. You’re so fucked up.”

“No hiding, right? You asked for it.”

“I did. I’ll take it all.”

Sasuke grunted once in amusement. “Yeah, you will.”

“Is that a sex joke?! Are you saying I’m a cock slut, now?!”

“ _Mine._ That would be … acceptable.”

Naruto laughed and pinched Sasuke’s side. “So what were you planning on telling Sakura?”

“That depends entirely on what you tell Hinata, I suppose.”

“Are you going to stay in Konoha, then?”

“Unless you have objections?”

“No. Just… I mean… where are you going to stay?”

“Oh you mean I can’t sleep with my wife, either?”

Naruto growled. “You most certainly may not. And we should probably talk to them both together, too.” He leaned back and played with Sasuke’s hair. “But… Well, I thought I’d move into the Hokage’s apartments.”

Sasuke nodded. “That would make the most sense.”

“Well, they’re kinda big.”

“Yes.”

“So I could have the kids sometimes.”

“Yes.”

“And ... company.”

“Company?”

“Or… maybe a roommate?”

“Roommate?”

“Oh, for fuck’s sake, you’re going to make me say it aren’t you, Bastard?”

“Yes. Of course I am.”

“Move in with me.”

Sasuke shrugged casually. “Sure. Ok.” He looked so indifferent and unfazed that Naruto would have felt deflated were it not for the bond. Through the bond he felt Sasuke’s pure, unfiltered excitement. He may have schooled his reactions, but it didn’t take away his feeling. Naruto laughed and Sasuke’s cheeks pinkened, which meant he knew exactly why Naruto was laughing. “Maybe you should turn it back off.”

“Never.”


	10. Epilogue

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Author’s Note: Dammit, there’s no way they’d be shitty dads. They know how important dads are, they wouldn’t screw it up. They just wouldn’t.

“That was not nearly as difficult as I thought it would be.” Naruto plopped into the chair behind his desk and exhaled deeply in relief.

“You don’t pay attention. I told you Sakura knew more than you did. Hinata shouldn’t be surprised, either.”

“I suppose there’s just the matter of the kids, then.”

Sasuke grunted. “You mean that kid?” He pointed to the window and when Naruto looked out it, he saw Boruto using his chakra levels to stand on the wall horizontally just under the sill.

Naruto sighed heavily and opened the window, motioning for Boruto to come in.

When Boruto jumped in the window, he looked from Sasuke to his dad and back again.

“How much of that did you hear?”

“I got here before they did.”

Sasuke smirked. “So all of it.”

Boruto nodded and he looked like he was going to cry.

“So then you heard your life won’t be changing terribly much. Your dad will likely be around _more.”_

“Yeah but… so will you.”

“Yes. I imagine Sarada will be displeased by that.”

“She knew! She told me you guys were too weird to be just friends! I didn’t believe her! She said that’s why you went on that mission! And that when you came back it’d all be different! She knew!”

It was Naruto’s turn to laugh. “She’s smarter than you give her credit, Bastard.”

Sasuke glared at him in reply. Naruto bent his knees slightly to stare Boruto in the face. “Are you ok?”

Boruto looked at him confused. “Yeah… what do you mean? What, because you’re gay? Or… not gay but you have a guy who you have a less than secret…. Affair-y thing … with… to… or…? Whatever. Mom doesn’t care, why should I?”

Naruto stood back up and touched his son’s shoulder, smiling. “You’re a pretty smart kid, too.”

“I’m smarter than Sarada!”

“ _I_ didn’t get caught, idiot!” The three males jolted with surprise to hear Sarada’s voice call from the adjoining room. Sasuke opened the door to reveal a flushed and embarrassed Sarada.

“Ah, but you _did_ get caught.” Sasuke smirked. “You let your emotions control you.”

“Hey! This isn’t a mission, this is our lives!” Boruto yelled from across the room.

 _“...Sensei.”_ Naruto’s voice was deep in reprimand.

“This isn’t a mission, _Sensei.”_

“No, and that’s why you’re not dead.” Sasuke motioned for Sarada to come inside the office and closed the door behind her before casting an amused glance at Boruto. “Were this a mission, her emotions would have gotten her caught and your lack of skill would have gotten _you_ caught.”

“Like father like child.” Sarada folded her arms across her chest.

“Ah, I take it you’re not as indifferent to this confirmation as your counterpart then?” Sasuke raised a brow at her.

“Hey, give her a break, she may need some time. That’s ok, Sarada.”

“I’m _fine._ Like Boruto said, this isn’t _news_ to me.”

“Then what are your panties in a bunch for?” Boruto barely got the question out before Sasuke threw a kunai at his shoulder. It would have hit him in a non-critical area, had Naruto not simultaneously smacked the back of his head so hard he tumbled forward onto his knees.

“Hey!”

“Don’t talk about my panties, then, idiot.” Sarada glared at him.

Boruto grumbled and flushed, folding his arms across his chest and looking everywhere but the three others in the room.

“Sarada? Why _are_ you upset if this isn’t news to you?” Naruto approached her carefully.

“Because ... he won’t be living with _us._ Even when he _is_ around.”

“Ahhh. Well, that’s partially true. We did decide we’d live here in the tower’s apartments that are meant for the Hokage.” Naruto tipped her chin up towards him. “But the tower apartments have 3 bedrooms. So we’ve actually made plans already for our three children to spend time with us, too.” He shrugged, hoping he didn’t seem overeager and praying his nervousness didn’t show. He honestly didn’t know how Sarada would handle this offer and he knew that, despite their distance until recently, having a relationship with his daughter was very important to Sasuke. “I hope you don’t mind bunking with Himaware from time to time.” Naruto was relieved and pleased to find Sarada smiling with unspilled tears in her eyes as she shook her head.

“And I _will_ be around with you and your mother, some, too.” Sarada turned her head towards her father with a hopeful expression.

“That’s right. Same as me with you, Boruto. We’re still a family. You heard that, too, if you were eavesdropping. Your mothers are completely committed to making our new family dynamic work. And so are we.”

“Will you be happy now, papa?”

Sarada’s voice was so small Naruto couldn’t control his soft smile and looking at Sasuke before he answered her. He was surprised when Sasuke took the two steps towards his daughter and knelt before her, grabbing her shoulder.

“Living a life with you in it everyday? Happier than you’ve ever seen me, daughter.”

“Do I call you Papa, too?”

Naruto burst into laughter at Boruto’s question. Sasuke leveled Boruto a flat look.

“No. No, you will not.”

* * *

The apartments had not been fully furnished, but they had the basics. If they were going to take their children like they had planned, they had to make a lot of adjustments. But for now it would work. Naruto hung his robe on the hook by the door and took a moment to appreciate Sasuke’s cloak next to it. When he turned he saw Sasuke watching him from the dining room, leaning against the table. He felt nothing but contentment through the bond and, as had been the case more often than not the past few days, he had no idea if it was his or Sasuke’s that he was feeling.

Naruto smiled and exhaled deeply as he approached Sasuke and Sasuke returned it with his own smirk and exhale of relief. He could imagine how glad Sasuke was to finally be where he’d been planning for ten years.

“You know… you didn’t really spend a decade building a one sided bond, Sasuke.” Naruto pushed Sasuke’s hair out of his eye; more in annoyance than affection. “Your hair’s stupid.” He smirked and Sasuke rolled his eyes. “I didn’t feel you through the bond, but I did feel you.” He leaned forward to lightly brush his lips with Sasuke’s before pulling back. “How many times do I have to tell you I feel what you feel? I just didn’t realize what was building. I couldn’t identify it like you could; I didn’t have a cheat sheet.” He pulled him in a tight hug, nuzzling his nose into his hair, breathing in deeply. “But I still got to the same place, even without it.”

He felt Sasuke scoff. “That part shouldn’t be surprising, I suppose. That is your way. Take the worst, most backwards way possible to get to a place where there is a direct path.”

Naruto pulled back to look into Sasuke’s face. “Ya know, I think I take that as a good sign.” Sasuke quirked a brow in question. “No matter _how_ we chose to do it it, this is always where we’d have ended up.” He felt Sasuke’s hand settle onto the small of his back, tracing light circles.

The bond filled with love and Naruto knew what Sasuke was saying without him ever saying it. As always. “I love you, too.”

“Dobe.”

“Bastard.”

* * *

“Maybe we’re not utilizing Mokuzai’s research as we should.” Naruto tossed his napkin on his plate as they went through their mission report, discussing how best to prevent the research from ever being used again.

“What are you talking about?”

Sasuke gave a casual shrug. “I’m just saying. Madara, with those wood clones, was pretty unstoppable. Can you imagine an army of Susanno? Your clones wouldn’t be better than _those_.”

Naruto scoffed. “You still seek out any way to make yourself more powerful than me. You say you love me, but then, here we are; with you looking for new ways to beat me.”

“If I wanted to beat you, Dobe, I’d have gotten a new arm, too.”

“Hmpf.”

Sasuke smirked. “Ah, besides, you compare things that are both precious to me. Is the sunset not as beautiful as the sunrise?”

Naruto grunted. “And which am I? The sunrise or the sunset?”

Sasuke grabbed Naruto’s hand, kissing his palm where the mark of the Sage of the Seven Paths had been. “You are the sun.”


End file.
